Collide
by Shadowfax
Summary: When White Gryphon is threatened by a new evil, a vision reveals that the answer lies in a history not yet written, and a trio of mages with powers not yet defined.
1. Future Tense

All characters and certain other things, like locations and languages and so forths, are the intellectual property of Mercedes Lackey. They are used here without permission, without profit, and without sanity. Um, scratch that last one… Wait. Never mind- don't.

This story exists as a plot device to get some of my favorite characters- who wouldn't ever, in a normal timeline, meet- in the same place at the same time. Feel free to point out any leaps in logic insufficiently supported… And do let me know if you catch any typos. However much I proofread, some still slip through; and then FFN likes to mess with my formatting... But, at any rate, please enjoy.

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-o-  
"Collide"  
-o-

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Chapter 1 – Future Tense  
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The day was calm and bright. Gryphons wheeled in the sky above the glistening city nestled into the side of the cliff. The sounds of the denizens of White Gryphon, going about the business of the day, drifted up toward Amberdrake as he looked down over the city. Calm and bright.

The exact opposite of his mood.

He supposed that, with the way things had been going lately, it was the day and not his mood that was out of place. Still, it was nice that even in the middle of chaos, life could continue, could still have bright moments. _Goddess, but there's been few enough bright moments lately…_

And, today, they were about to see whether there would ever be bright moments again. Snowstar was ready; the other three mages were prepared. There would be no more waiting. The _kestra'chern_ sighed. Truth be told, he was probably the most scared of the group, but keeping up brave fronts was something that was not only his job, it was something he had become extraordinarily good at.

He struggled to quiet his rambling thoughts, and as Drake ascended the steps to the chamber where they were going to perform the ritual he breathed deeply and tried to organize his mind. He pushed open the door and went inside. Snowstar looked up at him, but returned his concentration to what he was doing, composed as he always was; however, an empath could easily read his tension. Skandranon came to stand beside his friend, and as Amberdrake placed a hand on the gryphon's shoulder he felt the muscles under his hand hard and tense with anxiety.

"We're almost ready," Skan said, and Drake had to bite his tongue to keep from laughing at his words in nervousness. For all that the waiting had been excruciating, now that the day was actually here…

"I'm glad someone is," he muttered instead. The look Skan shot him was not amused.

_:I'm ready Papa Skan.:_ Kechara came bounding over to where the pair stood.

"Good girl Kechara." Skan grinned at her, a smile reserved for her even in the middle of his apprehension. "Wait for Snowstar, then listen to what he says, alright?" She grinned back and romped over to come to a straight halt a few feet in front of Snowstar. Her tail twitched as she raptly fixated her attention on him, waiting for his signal.

Drake glanced around the room; people milled around, but soon they would be asked to leave. Except for the three mages who stood in a loose circle around Snowstar, mages with a particular gift in the area of foresight. Mages who'd had visions… They were the ones who had first known of the threat- the ones who had proposed a solution before the threat became evident to everyone else. These three mages had been frightened almost out of their minds by what they had seen; until other reports had supplemented theirs, and people had started to take their warnings seriously, they had been frantically trying to get the Council to listen to them.

Snowstar raised his head and nodded at Kechara. He must have given her more instructions via mindspeech because she scampered to the center of the floor and turned to look at him for approval. The three mages also moved out, taking diamond point positions around Kechara in the center and leaving Snowstar in the fourth position. Snowstar looked at Drake and the _kestra'chern_, taking the hint, started herding people out through the doors. Winterhart was one of the last ones out; she took his hand and squeezed it before turning and ushering out the people in front of her.

Amberdrake was thankful for that; not only her absence at what was, hypothetically, the most dangerous part of the process, but also her serene outward confidence, and her gentle reassurance that she _was_ with him, always. He went and stood beside Skan. They were the welcoming committee; the spell would probably leave most or all of the mages involved unconscious, or at least extremely weak. Drake and Skan, and a small group waiting outside, were in charge of making sure their new visitors felt… at home. Drake smothered a slightly hysterical laugh at that last thought and turned all his attention to Snowstar.

The k'Leysha Adept was the most powerful mage in the city. If he couldn't do this… they were all doomed. There was some hope in the fact that, while foresight was not usually one of Snowstar's prominent abilities, he'd had a vision of himself performing the ritual successfully. Amberdrake held his breath as a feeling of power filled the room. The four mages raised their arms, in perfect synchronization with each other, and Kechara's eyes glowed with blue light as she sat in the middle, facing Snowstar. The little gryphon and the mage seemed to be staring at each other and the blue light grew stronger as it spread and seemed to fill the room. The feeling of power grew too, until it felt like an enormous creature crouched in the room with them, its presence overwhelming. Amberdrake shut his eyes against the light and the hand that was pressed firmly against Skandranon's shoulder trembled.

Suddenly, the feeling of power dissipated, and as the light faded Amberdrake could hear someone screaming.

Instinct overcame restraint or fear, and he stepped toward the noise, but Snowstar held out an arm weakly to stop him. Drake frowned at the mage, then glanced at the room in front of them.

The three mages were collapsed where they had been standing. Kechara was standing dazedly where she had been sitting, looking around in alarm. Three other men had appeared, as if out of the air, one standing more or less in front of each mage.

The rightmost two stood looking around confusedly, their posture becoming more defensive as they regained some of their equilibrium. The man farthest to the left was lying on the ground, screaming as if his soul had been torn out.

Amberdrake pushed past Snowstar and went to the man, attempting to see if he was injured. As soon as he put his hands on the man, an inhuman shriek sounded and only a shouted warning from Skan saved him as he dropped and rolled away coming up in a crouch a few feet away.

A huge bird, a falcon, had its talons buried in the floor in a direct line from where Amberdrake's head would have been. It shrieked at him again, its feathers mantled, and it backed away a few steps to stand closer to the man it was protecting, swiveling its head around in an effort to keep an eye on everyone in the room. Was that a bondbird? Amberdrake glanced at Skan in amazement.

Skandranon wasn't looking at him. He was slowly advancing on the bondbird, clucking softly in an attempt to soothe it. To give the bird credit, it did not appear to be at all afraid of the enormous gryphon and it refused to give ground, buffeting the gryphon's head with its wings when Skan got too close.

The man had stopped screaming. He was lying on his side, one hand clutching at his chest, as if to ensure that his heart was indeed still there, and breathing in quick, shallow gasps. The bird quieted slightly, especially after Skan backed off a bit. It turned to the man and nibbled worriedly at his fingers. Almost automatically his fingers moved in a caress. "Kesuki," he whispered. The word was not familiar to Amberdrake, and for a moment he feared the translation element they had woven into the spell hadn't worked. The man looked up at him. "Why?" he asked, his face drawn and haggard. "Who are you?"

Drake looked up and met the eyes of the other two men as well, their faces suspicious and questioning. He bowed his head. "Please. I am sorry, but we are in desperate need of your help."

"Well, you certainly have a dramatic way of getting one's attention," the man who had been in the center said waspishly. "Is there anything else you needed while we were at it?" He was stroking the crest of another bird, one whose species looked entirely unfamiliar to Amberdrake, as the bird twittered in agitation.

The third man stepped forward, glancing at the second man as if seeing… not a ghost, so much as something that should not exist the way that he saw it now. "Firesong?" he said tentatively.

The second man turned to him, eyes narrowed. "Who are you?"

The third man looked long and hard at the one he had called Firesong, as if memorizing his face. "Darian," he said; a glance at Amberdrake, almost as an afterthought, seemed to say that Drake was _not_ welcome to take that as an introduction. "What is going on?"

His cool, controlled words were almost as effective, or perhaps more so, than shouted expletives would have been. And the frankly enormous owl gripping at his shoulder with talons as long as Drake's fingers didn't hurt his presence any. Drake didn't try to put him off, though truly explaining "what was going on" would take a very long time, since not even Amberdrake really knew.

"That is… extremely complicated to explain," he started, "but let me say again that we were in need of your help. We were… forced to… call you here." His eyes narrowed as he assessed what to say- what they would believe. _Sketi_, _he_ didn't even believe it. "We brought you here, from out of the future."

That earned him a few incredulous glares… which faded into thoughtful looks. "So," the one called Darian asked, "who exactly are you?"

Drake inclined his head. "Amberdrake k'Leshya, of the city of White Gryphon."

All three of them gasped in utter astonishment, looked around themselves again as if seeing the place for the first time, and Darian's incredulous eyes fell on Skan. "Right. So don't tell me, you're…"

"Skandranon Rashkae," he started but it was Firesong who finished.

"The Black Gryphon." He shook his head, though whether in denial or something else, or in denial of what, Drake could not be sure.

It was Darian who spoke next. "Perhaps we should sit down." He glanced at the owl when it hurred inquiringly. "And have some dinner?"

Drake nodded and went to open the doors. He admired this Darian's diplomatic skills under pressure.

Firesong went to the other man, who was still seated on the floor and offered his hand to pull him to his feet. "And you are?" he said, his tone jesting- reminding the man that he was the only one there who had not yet introduced himself, but also implying that he wouldn't be surprised if the man didn't particularly care to reveal himself to the group just yet.

The man accepted his hand and once he stood in front of Firesong, their faces mirroring each other strangely, long white hair framing blue eyes, he said simply, "Moondance."

Firesong gasped as if burned, and Darian's head came up. Moondance glared at them and Kesuki hissed at them from the mage's shoulder. "What is it?" he said.

"Moondance k'Treva? You…" Firesong began, but Darian cut him off.

"I think we should find out more about what is gong on before we… start to talk to each other." He looked at Firesong uncomfortably.

Firesong returned his look, seeming to remember how Darian had called him by name even though he would have sworn he had never seen the other man before. "Yes. I suppose so."

Moondance looked at them suspiciously. "I suppose," he echoed, and he followed them as they left the room.

-o-


	2. Some Explaining to Do

Note: Kesuki is my name for Moondance's bird, since he doesn't have a name in canon (shameless self-promotion: check out "Man in the Wind and the West Moon"!). The dates I've thrown around in this chapter are only rough estimates, pulled from the timeline in the front of the books since I can't recall anyone _ever_ using an actual date, as in year, in any of the stories.

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Chapter 2 – Some Explaining to Do  
-

Darian looked around the quarters he had been shown to. The stone walls of the chamber seemed to close in around him, but as he lowered Kuari to grip onto the railing at the foot of the bed the owl hurred at him gently, cocking his head to look at Darian.

"I'm alright bird," he said affectionately, running his hand over Kuari's ear tufts.

_:This is good,:_ the owl responded. _:You were frightened earlier. And uneasy. Still- a little.:_ Kuari's mindvoice was overlaid with concern. _:It is alright? These strange men? And Firesong.:_ He ruffled his feathers. _:Aya does not know __me.:_ This fact seemed to him to be the most unsettling. Darian could see how that would be so; the owl probably couldn't grasp the concept of what exactly had happened to them. Hell, _Darian_ didn't think _he_ could grasp it just yet, but as he reached out with his magesight and felt the world around him he could tell that it was irrevocably different from the one he had known. It _felt_ different, in a subtle way that would be very hard to fake or influence. At least he though it would be.

"I think he's not the same Firesong we know." He stroked the owl's head comfortingly, but his words were for both of them. "He seems… younger. I think… from before we met him." He frowned, still trying to grasp the concept of time- or rather, being _out_ of time, existing on the other side of it. Shivers ran over his skin and he decided not to think about it too much. "I think I'll wash up," he murmured at Kuari. A glance around the room revealed a bathing room. He peered into it when he heard a noise behind him. He turned to see a _hertasi_ standing cautiously in the doorway.

"Your pardon, sir," she began, as if not sure what reception to expect, but Darian smiled warmly at her. And he noticed Kuari looking at her with interest; behind her stood another _hertasi_ with a platter discretely covered with a cloth, but with the way Kuari's hunger had intensified he was fairly certain he knew what it contained.

"Hello," he said. "I must say I'm glad to see you. Figuring out this bathing room will be much easier with the help of _hertasi_."

She smiled at this and moved into the room. "I was not sure whether you would be familiar with those of my kind and I did not wish to frighten you," she said as she showed him the surprisingly simple levers that brought water into the basin for bathing. "My name is Jewel. Food for you is being brought, but we also brought food for your companion." She inclined her head at Kuari.

"He is most grateful," Darian said with another smile. That was something of an understatement. Whatever had brought them to this place, to this _time_, had made him incredibly hungry, and Kuari hadn't eaten for awhile even before they came. The smile left Darian's face. Before…

Thinking about before brought a sudden pang to his heart. He decided to not think about that anymore. Which was something easier said, or thought, than done. The sophistication of the bathing facilities only slightly surprised Darian. He'd heard a great deal about White Gryphon, and not just from Kelvren and Silverfox but Ayshen as well.

_Easier said than done_, he thought again, trying to block his train of thought. Kuari, sensing his agitation, hurred softly. He smiled at the bird. "I'm alright," he said again, hoping that if he said it enough it would be true.

He hurried and bathed as Jewel fed Kuari the chuncks of meat she's brought for the owl. The sooner he felt a little more like himself, the sooner he could track down this Amberdrake and try to pin down exactly what was gong on.

-o-

Amberdrake was seated in his chair at the Council table, leaning forward thoughtfully against his steepled fingers. "Drake?" Judeth called softly. He looked up at her.

"Sorry," he said. "Mind wandering. Must be getting old."

Judeth snorted disbelievingly at that, but now that she had his attention she turned back to face the entire group. "Well?" she said succinctly.

Snowstar, looking more tired than all of the rest of them combined, met her eyes. "Mages Arek, Sunwolf, and Thyer are resting but have all regained consciousness. They report that the feeling of impending disaster that marked their foresight visions has dissipated. They feel that whatever we have done, we have already taken enough steps that the potential for disaster has lessened. The newcomers were shown to quarters to eat and bathe before the Council this evening when we attempt to explain to them what we're doing." His look turned thoughtful. "Judeth, did you see them?" She shook her head, and Snowstar continued, "I think they might be Kaled'a'in."

Judeth's eyes narrowed. "Kaled'a'in?"

"I'm not sure," Amberdrake put in. "Their clothing is similar, their manner, and the bondbirds. But in many ways they are very different. Though," he frowned, "that could be the effect of the changes wrought on a culture by the passage of time."

"Could they be from the other tribes, rather than from the future as we suspect?" Judeth added, but Snowstar shook his head. "Just wanting to make sure we consider all options." She frowned as well. "After all, even with all of the details the mages were able to give us we still are not entirely sure who these people are, or why it is _them_ that we need so desperately."

"About that." Skandranon couldn't frown precisely, but he was doing an admirable job as it were. "What _do_ we know about who they are? The mages seemed certain that they were all from different places in the timeline, but they all seem to know each other, or at least _of_ each other. And, while it makes sense, were we aware of the fact that they were all mages? And on par, at least, with Snowstar here?"

"Mages?" Amberdrake asked, confused. "Is that what we needed? What was so important that we couldn't provide it ourselves?"

"Yes and no," Snowstar said. "They are mages, of great power, but there is something else about them… Something I cannot quite place."

The Council regarded each other for a few moments.

"Well." Judeth placed her hands palm down, firmly on the table. "We'll just have to ask them."

Amberdrake shook his head. "If I was them, I don't think I would be particularly inclined to tell us anything."

-o-

The Council stood as the three visitors entered the room and took the empty chairs placed for them at the table. Amberdrake noticed that none of them had left behind anything they had brought with them; one wore the sword he had come with and all three were accompanied by their birds, even the huge, hulking owl. Apparently someone had foreseen this; there were perches for the birds behind the chairs and Drake saw the man with the owl- Darian, he remembered- settle the bird gratefully onto the post.

"Well." The one called Firesong was seated in the middle. The trio had taken seats in the same order they had arrived, whether unconsciously or by design. "So, now that we're all somewhat clean and partially fed, are we going to find out what's going on?" Drake reeled back slightly; the man's tone was caustic and managed to insult the accommodations he'd been given without _sounding_ as if he was being insulting both at the same time. However Drake could feel the fear that lurked under the surface of his thoughts, and the thrill of exhilaration that filled him at the prospect of the unknown.

Judeth had remained standing, and now, after giving the newcomers an appraising look, she began to speak. "Well, you all look like big boys and like you can handle yourselves, so I'm not going to spare anybody's feelings. I hate to tell you that we really have no idea why you're here," she started, and Drake flinched at the bluntness of her words. "I guess the first thing I should tell you is just who _we_ are, and just _where_ you are."

"I don't think that's really all that necessary," Darian put in. "I think we all know who you are."

"But you could confirm it. That would be nice." Moondance looked pointedly, and not particularly pleasantly, at Darian.

"I'm Judeth," she started around the table to her right, "Snowstar, Amberdrake, Skandranon. Residents of the city White Gryphon, and all of us of the k'Leysha clan of the Kaled'a'in." She paused after the last word, as if waiting for a reaction. "So, who exactly are all of you?"

"And where exactly are you from?" added Snowstar.

"You don't even know that?" Darian shook his head. "What exactly are you people _doing_ here? I thought White Gryphon was…"

"_Not_ a city of madmen." Moondance's eyes had narrowed even more and the expression he wore matched the sudden hissing of the hawk perched behind his head.

Snowstar fixed him with a look. "Please, it would be much easier if we had names to address you by." Moondance just glared at him icily.

Drake was not at all surprised that the one who had identified himself briefly as Darian was the first to speak.

"Darian Firkin k'Vala k'Valdemar. Of k'Valdemar Vale, year 1406 by Valdemar reckoning." He looked pointedly at Judeth. "That would make it about… 2400 years in the future." He seemed slightly stunned, as if he hadn't quite comprehended the enormity of that amount of time before he'd started speaking. Drake could feel sudden loneliness and despair fill him, only to be clamped down on and shunted back almost immediately. The man certainly had excellent control. More so than Judeth who had gone completely white at his words.

"Well, there's certainly no hope of following _that_ performance." The man in the middle sat up a little straighter and shook his hair back. "Firesong k'Treva," he said simply. "Currently of Haven, about 1386 AF, by Valdemar reckoning." He frowned. "Or else it was the last time I noticed. It's been awhile since time particularly mattered, other than the fact that we were running out of it. And Aya," he added, reaching back to give the bird a caress. It trilled brilliantly and Firesong turned a gloating look on Darian, who, despite the circumstances, couldn't suppress a reflexive smile.

Amberdrake turned his eyes to the last person in the group. Moondance was watching Firesong and Darian as if he was quite certain they were both mad, and he also had paled as they revealed their origins. Moondance must have felt Drake's eyes on him; he turned to look at him, his face hard. "And you?" Drake asked softly.

"Moondance k'Treva," he said, his voice quiet. He offered no other information. Firesong and Darian both looked at him again, as if seeing him for the first time, realizing something they hadn't before. Darian's face was gentle, sympathetic, and Firesong looked at if he'd been hit upside the head by a brick.

"Roughly 790 AF," Darian said softly. "A peer of Herald Mage Vanyel Ashkevron." Firesong twitched at that name and Moondance shot Darian a black look. Darian merely looked at Judeth. "Is that sufficient?"

She nodded, turning to glance at her fellow Council members. "When Urtho, Mage of Silence and his adversary, Kiyamvir Ma'ar," she began without preamble, "both died at the same time, magical shockwaves rolled over the world, destroying the fabric of magic everywhere."

"We know," Firesong said, sounding slightly bored. "It's happening again in the future, in case you're interested." Moondance shot a look at him, but Darian only looked strangely mysterious.

Judeth tried to ignore him, though the information that the cataclysm was still affecting the far flung future almost knocked Drake out of his seat. "The magical storms caused by this event have weakened in strength considerably as of late. However…" She paused. "Another cataclysmic expulsion of magic has taken place, at odds with the first two." She took a breath. "If the simultaneous destruction of Urtho's Tower and Ma'ar's Castle generated waves of magical backlash that overlapped each other as they expanded, this third event is focused in a place that is using the momentum of both sets of waves to propel it forward."

"Forward?" Darian repeated. "Where is it going?"

Judeth sketched a diagram on the surface of the table with her fingers. "Since this new force has the center of the combined force of the two original cataclysms at its back, the waves it throws backwards get reflected back again to the front. See?" She demonstrated this, showing how the bulk of the energy expelled by the cataclysm was focused down a narrow region.

"White Gryphon is here," she said, pointing to the center of the narrow region. Everyone in the room took a minute to absorb that information.

"So your city is going to be destroyed. What concern is it of ours?" Moondance's voice was laced with pain. Drake looked at him closely, but it was Darian who answered.

"It is of concern to _me_. Many of my friends are descendents of this city. If it is destroyed now, they will never exist."

Firesong flinched at Darian's words, and, wetting his lips, added, "It is of concern to me as well."

"What I meant," Moondance stood and leaned forward, placing his tightly clenched fists on the table and glaring at Judeth, "is why is it _forced_ to be our concern? Why did you bring us here?"

"She didn't," a voice behind him said. "We did." Moondance whirled around and fixed his glare on the newcomers to the scene.

Three men stood in the doorway. The one in the center was the tallest; he was the one who had spoken. He was as slender as he was tall and seemed to exude an aura of self-assurance. "My name is Thyer," he said, inclining his head to Moondance, as well as to Darian and Firesong who had stood as well and had turned to regard the trio by the door. "I present my fellow mages Arek," he gestured to the man on his left, a short, dark-complexioned man with an eager face, "and Sunwolf." The man on his right was obviously Kaled'a'in, from his dress as well as his name, and all three were obviously mages- their eyes bright blue. Arek's hair was streaked with the white that also revealed his vocation; Sunwolf's was obviously dyed and Thyer's was iron grey, though the effect seemed to be from age and stress rather than the handling of node magic.

"Then I ask _you_." Moondance stepped around his chair and strode over to Thyer to stand toe to toe with the taller man. "_Why_?"

Thyer's face revealed nothing of what he felt, but his voice was low and tense with emotion as he responded. "This city and its people may not mean anything to you, but their lives are important to _me_. I was shown an opportunity, a way to save them, and I took it. Visions were gifted to me of a man with the power to help us- you. I am sorry if this disrupts your perfectly ordered life, but I am merely the one who _had_ the vision- not the one who sent it."

A series of emotions flitted across Moondance's face, all of them too controlled to be fully identified. "Fine," he said finally. He turned back toward Judeth and stood behind the chair he had vacated earlier, raising a hand to stroke the feathers of the hawk that crouched worriedly on his perch. "What do we do?" he asked, still facetiously. "What is it that we have that you needed so badly you _had_ to have us here?"

Judeth glanced at Snowstar. "We were rather hoping you could tell us," she said softly.

"Oh, for the love of…"

"I should think it's obvious." Darian leaned forward, his eyes bright. "Though perhaps you don't recognize the signs, since you don't have anything to compare it to."

Moondance gestured impatiently. "What are you talking about?"

Snowstar was watching Darian intently. "Yes, I feel there is something about you," he murmured.

Darian smiled at Snowstar. "And then again it could be that it's only obvious to me because I just had my Adept trial two weeks ago." He rested his hands on the table. "I'm not sure _why_ you need us, but the reason it needs to be _us_ is pretty clear." Darian looked at Moondance and then shifted his gaze to Firesong. "We're all Healing Adepts."

-o-


	3. Need for Healing

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3 – Need for Healing  
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There was a pause. "What's a 'Healing Adept'?" Skan turned questioning eyes on Snowstar and Amberdrake, but their expressions were just as blank as his.

"A Healing Adept is a mage who heals the damage done to magic and the land by the Cataclysm." Surprisingly enough, Moondance was the one who responded. His eyes were on Darian and his gaze was thoughtful. "Such healing is the duty of all Tayledras, but doubly so the duty of a Healing Adept. It is our mission in the world, given by the Goddess." Firesong nodded at these words.

"'Tayledras'?" Amberdrake said softly, but suddenly his eyes flew wide as several things made sense. "The other clans! They were separated from us- She must have given them this task." Which would account for the similarities between the k'Leysha Kaled'a'in and these strangers, as well as for the subtle differences.

"Yes," Firesong confirmed. "Though it is more complicated than just that, but I suppose we can leave the Shin'a'in out of it for the moment. At any rate, only recently, in my time, has contact with White Gryphon and the Kaled'a'in been reestablished." His eyes were amused as he looked over the Council. "The lost clan… Calling us for help? I can assure you, I will never let Silverfox hear the end of it." Suddenly his smile faded, as if he just remembered that he was miles, as well as millennia, away from Silverfox and, at the moment, quite possibly would never see the other man ever again.

A pall of silence fell over the room. Moondance gripped the back of the chair he was standing behind then suddenly turned and left the room. Kesuki took off after him, chirring worriedly.

Judeth stood. "We will meet again later," she dismissed them. Amberdrake nodded at her, then, following his profession, followed Moondance out into the hall.

The man was a mess; a knot of pain. Drake trailed after Moondance, sensing which way he'd gone by following the traces of his disturbed mind. Moondance had not gone far; Drake found him not far away standing on a balcony and looking at the sea. Kesuki nestled in his bondmate's arms and Moondance stroked the falcon's crest soothingly. Drake came up behind Moondance, sure that the mage was aware of his presence.

"I am a _kestra'chern_," he began without preamble. "I… help people. Heal people, as perhaps you heal land. Please, if there is something that troubles you, allow me to help." Moondance turned to him, his eyes tortured, and the bitter and angry words he had ready died on his lips. Kesuki flapped up out of his bondmate's arms as Moondance collapsed against Amberdrake's strong shoulder, and a wracking sob tore from his throat. Kesuki crooned worriedly, but did not attack Amberdrake as he had earlier.

"_Ashke_," Moondance cried against Drake's shoulder as the _kestra'chern_ took the other man in his arms and lowered both of them to the floor. "_Ashke"?_ Drake thought. _Ashkeyana? Wait- he cannot mean… Sweet Goddess! What have we done?_

"You are lifebonded," Amberdrake said with grim certainty as horror filled him.

"We were attacked, Brightstar, myself, and… S… Starwind," Moondance whispered, choking the words out around the fear and loss that filled him. "I saw… he… he was standing there, but when I looked again, he was gone, and I… I couldn't feel him… and then I was here…" He breathed in a deep, shuddering breath. "I can't _feel_ him…"

Amberdrake wrapped his arms tightly around the other man. _Goddess…_ What had they done? If in tearing Moondance away from the battle in which he had been engaged they had inadvertently caused the death of his lifebonded… Even if this Starwind lived, even if Moondance's inability to feel the presence of his partner was due only to the vastness that separated them, they had torn the pair apart. And there was no guarantee that they would be able to return Moondance to his life.

"_Kechara_," Drake murmured, pulling Moondance against him and stroking the other man's hair. "What we have done… is unforgivable. If I had known…" But he stopped. There was no comfort in might have been. Without thinking, Amberdrake opened himself fully to the other man's pain, taking it into himself.

Goddess, but it _hurt_, like his heart, his head, his very reason for living had been torn away. Moondance sobbed brokenly in Amberdrake's arms as the _kestra'chern_ held him, rocking him softly, stroking his hair gently, tears streaming down his own face, and Kesuki stood guard over them both.

-o-

"Excuse me, sir."

As he was leaving the Chamber, Darian felt a presence beside him more than he heard the mumbled words. He paused and turned, and found one of the mages standing at his elbow. It was the youngest looking of the three, Arek, if he remembered correctly. He was a full head shorter than Darian, and despite the bright white streaks in his hair and his striking features his manner was retiring. He settled spectacles more firmly on his nose and looked at Darian earnestly.

"What is it?" Darian said readily. He couldn't help but respond to the young man, and as he took a good look at him he realized just _how_ young the man was. _Man? Only barely…_ He didn't look like he even shaved yet.

The boy's expression was grave and begged forgiveness. "I'm sorry," he said. "I'm sorry for bringing you here like this, but… but…" He stumbled over his words in his eagerness to express his sincerity, obviously expecting a reaction similar to Moondance's; though the young mage knew himself unable to stand up under a scathing reply as the older mage, Thyer, had, he felt compelled to make the gesture. Darian's heart went out to him.

"Hey." He took the boy by the shoulder and squeezed it reassuringly. "It's alright," he said, and he surprised himself by actually meaning it. "It's done now. No use worrying about it." He could see the boy wasn't quite convinced, so he leaned over and held his eyes. "If you folk have a problem, it's my job to help you. Didn't you hear Moondance? It's what we do."

"But Moondance…"

Darian squeezed his shoulder again. "Moondance… left more behind than either of us did." He wasn't sure what to tell the boy exactly; Firesong had spoken to him about Moondance and Starwind, the lifebonded pair who had raised his ancestor Brightstar, but now that Moondance was no longer a figure of the ancient past Darian didn't want to go around telling people personal things about him- it wasn't his place. "He's in a lot of pain. But I'm sure that once he deals with it, he'll be ready to help out." Arek nodded, accepting. Darian smiled at him. "Now, would you mind helping me find my room? I was too tired to pay attention to where we were going when I came here, and now that I'm even _more_ tired I don't trust myself not to end up walking off a cliff or ending up in the stables or something."

Arek grinned. "I can help! I remember where you're staying." He frowned at Kuari, as if debating something mentally. Darian wondered what it was, but wasn't left in suspense long. "If you're that tired," Arek offered cautiously, "I could… carry your friend."

Darian smiled. "His name is Kuari, and he is flattered by your offer, as am I. However, I think I can manage, as long as I have you there to point me in the right direction!" Arek grinned again, obviously relieved.

Darian was grinning too, despite his weariness, as he followed the boy. Arek had a good heart, that much was obvious, which compelled him to give assistance wherever he could. While Darian had wondered how such a young mage of no outstanding talent had become part of this operation, it was no longer a mystery to him. Even if he hadn't been gifted with the visions that showed him Darian, as Thyer had said was how they had know to call the futuristic mages, he would have found a way to help out; that was just the kind of person he was.

But even as he thought about the boy, Darian worried about Moondance. He had seen Amberdrake follow him out of the Chamber; familiar with the profession of the _kestra'chern_, Darian knew that Amberdrake was probably the one most qualified to help Moondance- if any of them could. He spoke a thought to Kuari who queried Kesuki, who confirmed that the pair were together. That was good; Darian's immediate concern abated. He would give them some time together, and then he, Moondance, and Firesong needed to talk.

-o-

"What are you staring at?" Firesong shifted uncomfortably under Sunwolf's intense gaze. Usually he had no problem whatsoever with people who wanted to look at him, but the Kaled'a'in mage's unwavering stare was getting irritating. He had asked Sunwolf to show him to a garden, wanting to be near life that wasn't going to try to explain to him that it was very sorry, but it desperately needed his help, and would he mind terribly being torn away from saving the world to give them a hand?

"My apologies." Silence stretched between them, and just when Firesong was about to snap again, Sunwolf spoke. "He seemed so familiar," he murmured, half to himself, "but two thousand years… I suppose not."

Thoroughly perplexed, Firesong turned to regard the other man. Sunwolf was staring vacantly off into the distance now. He had perhaps an inch on Firesong, and maybe ten pounds, and the Adept had to admire the skill with which his hair had been died in shades of golden brown that made the faces of wolves flash when he moved his head. His clothing was just as elaborate- shades of blue accented by yellow and gold. "What are you talking about?" Firesong asked.

Sunwolf looked at him, slightly startled. "I'm sorry, I was unaware that I had spoken."

"You said that someone seemed familiar to you." Firesong's eyes narrowed intently.

Smiling dismissingly, Sunwolf elaborated. "It is nothing. Just that, I… when I saw visions of you, as Thyer said in the Council, I saw also in many of them, a man who… reminded me greatly of someone I know."

Firesong was stunned. "Silverfox," he said automatically. "His name is Silverfox." Silverfox had to be the man Sunwolf was referring to. He was the only person of those gathered at the Tower who would look even remotely _familiar_ to an ancient Kaled'a'in. But… "_greatly_"? "Who exactly does he remind you of?"

Sunwolf smiled. "It is late. I will speak with you at greater length tomorrow? If you desire."

"Yes. I'd say I do." He nodded in return to Sunwolf, and watched as the man left the garden. A wind picked up, rustling the leaves and causing his hair to blow across his face. Aya chirped softly and Firesong raised a hand to scratch the firebird.

_:Well, isn't he a mysterious one. Ten to one he has some nefarious plot afoot.:_

Firesong snorted. _:Like what exactly? What could he want to do? Or why even? He's the one who brought us here.:_

_:Look here boy, I didn't tag along on this little trip for my health. Though, with the situation we left behind, this side trip could lengthen my years considerably.:_ Where it had been humorously ironic, the voice in his head grew cautionary. _:Just because he brought you here, and just because he thinks he knows someone who looks like someone you know, doesn't make him someone to be trusted.: _

_:I know, Need.:_ Firesong sighed, letting his hand fall to the sword strapped at his side. _:But who _can_ be trusted? And trusted with _what? They_ don't even know why we're here.:_

_:Obviously _somebody_ knows. And that somebody brought in Healing Adepts, so obviously something needs healing. And also it obviously has something to do with this little reprise of the Mage Storms they're experiencing.: _

Firesong rolled his eyes and folded his arms over his chest. _:I'm glad you're here to tell us these things.: _

_:Well, someone has to point out the obvious to those who are inherently clueless. And here's one more obvious thing.:_

_:Yes?:_ Firesong waited for her to speak, sure she was about to hit him with some terrible truth that he hadn't thought of yet. Instead, he was pleasantly surprised.

_:If they're in the middle of a crisis, they certainly picked the right person to help them out. You're good boy. And with me along to point out those obvious things you're missing, whatever's coming better watch out.:_

-o-


	4. What a Day

-  
4 – What a Day  
-

Firesong stayed in the garden, thinking. It was near dusk when Darian found him there. Firesong looked up at his entrance, and even as Darian opened his mouth to speak, Firesong said, "Yes I suppose you're right. Where is he?"

Darian shut his mouth and smiled. He motioned for Firesong to follow him, and the pair moved off. Aya winged off into the night, followed by the silent bulk of Kuari.

-o-

Amberdrake was tired. It was a tiredness that seeped even the energy from his bones; that seemed to eat away at his soul. Moondance lay across his lap and Drake's hands rested comfortingly on him- one brushed hair from his face, the other rubbed his shoulder reassuringly. Moondance's own arms were wrapped around Kesuki, the bird curled against his bondmate's chest making soft, comforting noises.

The flurry of wings drew Drake's attention to the ledge where Kesuki had been perched before. Another bird was settling there now, one that Drake recognized immediately if only because he had never seen anything like it before. It was Firesong's bondbird- Aya, if Drake remembered correctly. The bird cocked its head at them and chirred inquiringly. Kesuki chirped back. Moondance raised his head. "They're coming," he said.

Drake was about to ask him who was coming, when there was a soft rustling of cloth in the doorway and a voice said, "See, he has found healing- or as much as can be found. You worry too much, Dar'ian of k'Valdemar." Amberdrake looked up to see Darian and Firesong standing in the doorway.

Moondance tried to rise, pushing himself to his knees, but if he was half as tired as he looked- as Drake _felt_- that looked to be about as far as he was going to get. Darian came forward and offered his hand, pulling the other mage to his feet. Moondance leaned on him heavily and when Darian pulled him into his arms and carried him from the room he only laughed softly.

Firesong offered Amberdrake his hand and the _kestra'chern_ took it gratefully, getting wearily to his feet. He glanced in the direction that Darian had taken Moondance and took his hand from Firesong's grasp. "I will leave you," he said. He could feel that they wanted to talk, to each other, together as victims of the same circumstance; and without the originator of that circumstance there to overhear.

But Firesong touched his arm. "Stay," he said softly. It was not a question or a command, but rather an offer, and Amberdrake smiled.

"I believe I will."

They gathered in Moondance's room; Darian laid him on the bed and sat on the edge of the table near him, lighting a lamp ensconced in a niche in the wall above him. Amberdrake folded gratefully into am armchair and Firesong stood by the window, flicking the curtains aside as Kesuki flew in and checked in with his bondmate, only to depart again moments later.

Moondance sat up on the bed wearily. "'Suki says Kuari is a funny bird," he said, glancing at Darian from under lowered eyelids.

"Kuari says Aya freaks him out," Darian responded, throwing a glance at Firesong.

Firesong snorted. "Aya's so happy to see other birds that are capable of coherent speech, no matter how feeble, that he is willing to overlook all of their other obvious shortcomings."

Darian laughed outright, and even Moondance smiled. Amberdrake watched them; the conversation almost seemed to serve as a code between them. _"My bird thinks your bird is weird"? No…it's more than that…_ Drake thought about how Kesuki had acted with Moondance, and Firesong's comment about Aya. _What if their entire society has companions of this sort? If so, then perhaps they have some feeling of community between them that _we_ could never provide._ Once again he berated himself, and the entire Council, for acting as they had without thinking the matter through thoroughly. Was their fear and perceived need truly enough to justify what they had done? But, a part of him thought, it had to be… If this helped at all then they had to have done it…

Silence descended over the room; a healing silence, rather than an uncomfortable one. The trio seemed to gain strength from each other's presence, and even Amberdrake could feel it- healing energy that washed over him, easing his weary body. When Firesong spoke, he didn't seem to disturb the silence; rather it felt _right_, as if one stage of healing had been completed and another was about to begin.

"I have always wished to be lifebonded." He was looking out of the window at the fading sunset as he spoke. "I have done… things… in my search for such a bond." He paused for a long moment, and then turned to Darian. "Tell me, have I yet been cured of my folly?" His eyes were bright, asking more than that simply question.

"I can't say for certain," Darian responded. He smiled. "But I believe so." Firesong nodded. There was obviously something else he was dying to ask, but he only glanced at Darian and kept his silence.

"Have we already changed it?" Moondance's voice was thin, strained, and the others seemed to know what he was talking about. "Has the future not already been irrevocably changed, just by our presence here? By our... absence... there?" He looked at Firesong then they both turned their eyes on Darian.

He sighed. "I suppose." He fell silent again for a long time. "Yes it's Silverfox," he said abruptly. "He stays." Darian's eyes seemed to glow in the semi darkness as he grinned at Firesong.

Firesong took a deep breath and nodded firmly, a smile spreading over his face. He looked at Moondance. "Brightstar is my ancestor," he offered. Moondance's eyes flew open in surprise. "By the tales of my Vale he lived to an old age. There is less… about you." He stumbled slightly over the last part; Drake could only imagine what it was like talking in the severely past tense about someone who was sitting there, looking at you. "But you die together, you and Starwind. I am sorry, that is all I can offer." Mondance nodded; it seemed to be enough.

"This does not make sense." Darian frowned. "In my time there is no record of this happening; of either White Gryphon calling for such aid or of the pair of you vanishing from history. If it has already happened, then shouldn't it be recorded?"

"Yes, unless for some reason, no one knew about it," Firesong. "Ma'ar practiced his tricks for all of that time as well, and no one ever suspected him."

Amberdrake flinched at the mention of Ma'ar's name. The three mages seemed to suddenly remember him and glanced over at him. Firesong smiled, the expression looking faintly predatory in the dim light. "Silverfox speaks highly of you, _kestra'chern_."

Drake shivered. They knew the future… He closed his eyes.

He had always hoped for a future where his daughter could grow up and live her life in peace with children of her own, but the only future he could really imagine, especially with recent events, was a repeat of what he already had known in his life. Visions of the past danced across the inside of his lids; if that was the future that waited, he didn't want to know. He didn't want to know…

"That is part of what makes no sense," Darian was saying. "White Gryphon is a peaceful, prosperous city, according to Ayshen, that hasn't _ever_ had any real problems with war or any other dangers. Or nothing other than the usual, everyday problems of a thriving city; with Haighlei protection, no one else ever bothered them."

"This is true." Firesong suddenly looked at Amberdrake. "You _have_ met the Haighlei, correct?"

"Yes," Amberdrake breathed. Peaceful… Their future…

Firesong frowned. "Yes, it truly does not make any sense."

Moondance shook his head at them. "_None_ of you make sense," he said with a ghost of a grin. "K'Leshya… the lost clan, found." He shook his head again, in wonder and denial. "And now I am _here_, in the past." He looked around again, settling his eyes on Firesong. "And you speak of Ma'ar as continuing. What is this?"

"Ma'ar discovered a way to flee his body before soul death," Firesong said, relating the facts as succinctly as possible, "hiding himself in the void between Gates until one of his blood called fire, therefore proving himself possessing of the mage gift; he would use this opening to possess his descendant's body. Then, in this new, stolen body he would continue to wreak his havoc." Moondance and Amberdrake stared at him uncomprehendingly. "You know Leareth, Moondance? He is Ma'ar, reborn." Moondance inhaled sharply; Amberdrake's expression of doubtful shock grew slightly more believing at this.

"Skan will be incredibly disappointed," Amberdrake murmured. He looked at each of the other men in turn. "So each of you have faced Ma'ar in the future?"

"No," Moondance said. "Leareth was destroyed by Vanyel. K'Treva only cleaned up the messes he left behind."

"And by my time, Ma'ar is truly dead." Darian's eyes were on Firesong.

Amberdrake turned interested eyes on Darian. "Who stopped him? And _how_?"

"I did." Firesong's voice was uncharacteristically soft. He looked up at Amberdrake. "We hurt his body to the point where his soul fled, and I traced him to his hidden retreat and tore it, and him, to pieces." There was a moment of silence as they all looked at him, taking in the information.

_:I suppose this would be the moment to poke my head in and introduce myself.:_

Amberdrake and Darian jumped while Moondance looked around suspiciously. "Who…" he began, but Firesong waved off his question with an air of resignation as he moved from the window to sit in the chair near it.

He lifted the sword from where it hung at his side and laid it on the table in front of him. "This is Need. I think I'll let her explain this one herself, since she started it. All I can say is, don't think about it too hard and just accept her for the annoying help she can be." He rubbed fingers against his temples. "You'll get used to her. Or go mad. Whichever."

_:Quite the wit as usual, boy.: _The others all stared at the sword, varying levels of disbelief on their faces as Need continued. _:Hello all. I can't say I'm as impressed as the rest of you lot at being here, but then I've lived through all this before. To keep it brief, a long time ago, for various reasons, I made a sword and decided to bind my soul to it. What with one thing and another, I ended up stuck helping Firesong here and the ragtag mages save the world, which is where I was when you lot dragged us here. And now, I think it's time we got off the why and how of it and decided what comes next.: _

Darian blinked and covered a smile with his hand. "Well, I've heard about you Need, but the reality certainly exceeds any you are most certainly right. We need to know more about the situation here and what we're supposed to do about it." He glanced at Amberdrake.

"I wish I could be of help," Drake said. "But what you have said disturbs me greatly. If you have no record of this happening in your futures, then…" He shook his head. "All I know is that the Star-Eyed has guided us through it so far by granting visions. There were those who had visions of destruction before the first storm hit us, though they were not believed until after the fact." Sorrow and pain crossed his face and his eyes were vacant as he looked into the near past. After a moment he shook himself and came back to them. "Then," he continued, "when Thyer came forward and told us about his dream we listened. Perhaps we listened too readily. We… were desperate." He looked up. "And one does not question the Star-Eyed. If she said to call you here, who are we to argue?"

Silence.

Moondance closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Who are we indeed."

"So," Firesong interjected, "we know nothing about this cataclysm? What caused it, who caused it? How it is affecting the use of magic? Obviously you were able to get us here, but what about Gating?"

"There's another storm due either late tomorrow or the next day which should disrupt the use of all magics. Gating has not been possible since the original cataclysm. Other than that, Skan and Judeth sent out patrols. None have returned as of yet."

"Are they overdue?" Darian asked softly.

Drake nodded, closing his eyes, overcome by weariness again. "But not by much," he said, desperately clinging to hope.

"All right." Darian stood up. "I suggest we get some sleep, and in the morning we'll see if we can help you find these missing patrols."

Firesong raised an eyebrow at Darian. "And who said you were in charge? Never mind," he said dismissingly before it could become an issue. "Your suggestion makes good sense. I second." He rose and stretched before sweeping Need up from the table. "In the morning then."

Amberdrake rose as well and followed Darian and Firesong out into the hall. They parted ways and he made his way to his home.

Winterhart was waiting up for him. She pulled him in through the door when he almost fell asleep on the step, too tired to push the door open, and guided him gently to the bed and forced him to lie down. He sighed as he let his body relax, and sighed again softly in contentment as Winterhart lay down beside him, her arm around him, her head on his chest. He folded his arms around her and held her, taking comfort in her closeness. She simply held him, understanding that what he needed was her presence more than her words. He stilled his worried mind and slept.

-o-

Skandranon was not sleeping.

The night wind buffeted his head viciously, as if announcing the morrow's coming storm. He scanned the darkened sky, searching for some sign of a returning patrol.

A hand came out of the darkness, finding his blackened shoulder and resting there. He glanced over at Judeth.

"No one could fly in this," she said, telling him what he already knew, not saying what both of them were thinking. She added, softer, "It's not your fault."

He signed, hearing her words over the wind. "I know. That doesn't mean I can't still feel responsible; that I can't wish it was twenty years ago and it could still be me and no one else risking their feathers." He dropped his head from his sky watch and sighed. Judeth squeezed his shoulder. She understood. A commander hated losing troops; particularly, a commander with so very much field experience hated sending green troops to do a job he _knew_ he could do better.

Suddenly Skan's head shot up, the muscles under Judeth's hand tensing. "Skan, what…" she began, but he was already gone, dropping off the side of the cliff like a falling shadow until his wings snapped open and he caught an updraft. While the analytical side of her brain understood the reasoning behind that particular maneuver- the wind currents near the top of the cliff were unpredictable this night- she was still wondering _what_ had inspired him to leap into the sky in the first place. "Goddess," she murmured, the sudden wild thought jumping into her mind that Skan intended to fly all the way to the edge of the patrol himself, _tonight_, to find the missing Silver Gryphons. "Skan, don't be stupid," she mumbled, knowing there was no way he would hear her. But as she peered after him she saw it, and she had to whisper again, more reverently, "Goddess!"

Judeth stepped to the edge of the platform at the top of the cliff, trying to get out of the way as Skan came in for a landing that could only be called a controlled crash, his claws snared desperately in the harness worn by the scout he has spotted coming in, the other gryphon's last reserves of strength giving out on him as he tried to make it back the last little bit to give his report. The pair lay sprawled, a giant mess of tangled, heavily breathing gryphon, and Judeth maintained the presence of mind to call down for a guard to call a healer or _trondi'irn_, whichever was awake. She approached the pair cautiously but both gryphons saw her and neither seemed to be in a great deal of pain. She recognized the scout; seeing her, he raised his head, his mouth open and tongue hanging out as he panted for breath, and gryph-grinned at her weakly.

The scout took a deep breath. "What a day. Commander," he said, rolling to one side so that he could look over his shoulder and include Skan in the glance he gave Judeth. "I brought information."

-o-


	5. Found and Lost

-  
5- Found and Lost  
-

"_Moondance."_

_He brushed the voice aside. "Mm… sleepy."_

_Laughter. "_Ashke_, get up."_

_Moondance opened one eye and glared at Starwind who only laughed harder. He leaned over and kissed Moondance softly on the temple, throwing his arm around the younger man and pulling him close against his body. "_Ashke_," he said again, the word barely more than a rumble in his chest to Moondance's ear. _

_Moondance sighed, smiling. He could stay here, like this, forever…_

_He frowned suddenly. Something was wrong. This wasn't how things were… He pulled away and looked at Starwind intently. "_Ashke_," he said, oddly desperate to prove the word, to make it real by saying it, but it died on his lips and the hand he raised to cup Starwind's cheek closed on empty air as he felt Starwind leaving him, slowly, as if being pulled away, irrevocably away, until whatever bonds existed between them shattered and he was alone…_

"_Ashke_," Moondance whispered. His eyes opened slowly and he looked with sorrow upon his surroundings. Pushing himself up frantically from the bed where he lay, he stumbled to the window. He gazed wildly down at the people that walked beneath it, clutching at the windowsill as if desperate to prove its existence before it too left him all alone…

Kesuki landed on the sill of the window between Moondance's hands and chirped comforting. _:Not alone, stupid Moondance.: _The falcon reached forward and nibbled at the mage's hair. _:Hurts.:_ Kesuki observed succinctly. _:Hurts, but not alone.:_

Moondance's hands rose automatically to stroke Kesuki, and even with the memory of his dream still fresh, even with the pain that had caused it still as real as it had ever been, he smiled. "You're right bird."

_:Keh. Always right.:_

Moondance laughed, the sound loud and joyous, and he swept Kesuki into a wild hug that shocked the bird but was careful not to injure him. "Maybe not always. But you are right." His eyes drifted to the people in the street below. "They need my help," he said, speaking to himself more than any audience. "I…. It _hurts_, but I have to help them. And…" His embrace tightened unconsciously around Kesuki. "And nothing is final. Nothing has happened yet." He closed his eyes tightly. Goddess, it _hurt_. "Firesong said together," he whispered. "Together…"

A gentle knock at his door brought him out of his self assuring mantra.

He released Kesuki, who perched on the back of the chair near the window, and went to answer it. He found the young mage standing there; his name was Arek, Moondance thought he remembered.

"Ah, good morning sir." The mage shifted nervously, fiddling with his spectacles, lowering his head and refusing to meet Moondance's eyes. "A scout returned last night with information and the council is meeting soon to discuss it. They asked me to inform you." He bobbed his head respectfully and started to depart, but Moondance grabbed his sleeve.

"Wait," he said softly, and when the young man turned to look at him in surprise he continued, with a small smile, "Thank you."

Arek's surprise appeared to rise and he stuttered out, "Y-you're welcome," before he fled down the hall.

Kesuki clucked deep in his throat- a raptorial chuckle. _:Boy is scared.:_ He cocked his head at his bondmate. _:Moondance scary.:_ He slicked his feathers down in mock fear and leapt to the floor to waddle across it comically as if seeking an escape.

Moondance smiled again at Kesuki's attempt to cheer him up. "I suppose I am. I was very angry yesterday." He frowned thoughtfully. "I shall have to correct his misimpression." _But first_, he thought, with a glance at his sleep rumpled clothing and hair, _if the Council is meeting, I shall have to make myself presentable._ If a scout had returned, they must have some information about what was happening.

-o-

The Council gathered early. The news of the scout's return had raced through the city almost immediately and everyone was eager to hear what information he brought. Amberdrake was awake, but he did not feel at all rested from the events of the previous day. He closed his eyes momentarily and closed his hands around the cup of warm liquid in front of him, letting the heat soak into his skin, bringing him more awake. He looked up as Firesong entered the room. Need hung at his side and Amberdrake felt his eyes drawn irrevocably to the sword.

_:See something you like? _Her gravelly voice sounded in his head, her humorous tone doing more to wake him up than anything else.

_I see something that astounds me_, he thought in reply, wondering if she could hear him. He was not a mindspeaker, but that she had the ability to make herself heard to him suggested that the opposite might be true as well. Managing to tear his attention away from the sword he observed Firesong, and Darian who walked in behind him. They looked better rested than he felt, but it was obvious, to him at least, that there was some tension between them.

Hakeri, the gryphon scout, entered next and Amberdrake was surprised to see him deep in conversation with Moondance. The mage nodded politely to the gryphon and came to take the empty seat next to Drake.

Drake smiled at him welcomingly; Moondance looked… amazingly better than he had the previous day. "I implied from what the three of you said last night that you are unfamiliar with gryphons in your time, yet you speak so easily with Hakeri. Was I mistaken?"

"No, you were not." Moondance flicked his hair to the side as he sat down. "I was… amazed to see such creatures; not surprised, for even in the future we know of their existence in what is our past. Though, as you perhaps noticed, my mind was given over to other concerns when I first arrived." His tone was darkly humorous, and Amberdrake nodded; Moondance was dealing with his pain, not letting it immobilize him. "I have found since," the mage continued, "that they are exceptional creatures, as I expected, and that they are possessed of an ironic wit that I find soothing."

Amberdrake grinned. "Yes, they are exceptional. A fact of which they will constantly remind you."

Skandranon, on Drake's other side, coughed and glared pointedly at the _kestra'chern_. "Could we begin the meeting Drake or are you too busy?"

Covering a smile with one hand, Amberdrake gestured for Skan to continue. "By all means my friend. Let us begin."

The look Skan shot him was withering, but the gryphon quickly turned his attention to the young scout. "Give your report Silver."

"Yes sir." Hakeri still looked slightly battered from his recent experiences, but a brief rest and some good food had done wonders. He sat before the council and spread his wings slightly, flexing the muscles in an unconscious nervous habit, as he began to speak. "I was assigned to B Group; we traveled far to the north. The group consisted of Shintea, Lori, and myself." He closed his eyes for a moment. "They… were yearmates of mine, and excellent flyers both." There was a pause before he continued. "After a stop at the northernmost checkpoint, we set off into unfamiliar territory. For several days we saw nothing but forest. Nothing unusual at all, not even changed creatures, which I guess is unusual in itself. On the eighth day we passed over signs of human activity. There was an encampment; it looked military in nature. Tea was acting scout leader. She told us to be cautious." He shifted uncomfortably. "So we scouted them out before we revealed ourselves to them. That night was moonless and Lori and myself approached from the ground, attempting to get close enough to one of the camps to hear what the people were saying. It was Lori who figured them out; they were speaking some strange tongue, but he was a bit of a mage so he cast a spell to translate. We heard quite a bit, before they caught on to us." Hakeri paused again. "I was the faster one; we'd had plenty of races, so Lori knew. He distracted them while I ran. I made it back to Tea and told her what we heard, but they we still following me so she lead them away so I could get back here… and, anyway, she wasn't going to leave without Lori."

The room was silent. After a moment, Skan gently prodded Hakeri into continuing. "What did the men say?"

Blinking, Hakeri hurred softly before continuing. "Yes sir. The men Lori and I overheard appear to be in the employ of a man known as Krawlven. They spoke of him as being the one who had caused the storms, or rather," he clarified, "they blamed him for the bad weather and unreliability of magic. There's no real way to ascertain the truth of their comments, other than one of them appeared to be a mage and of high standing and he shared these opinions. He also looked to be quite drunk, as he spoke at length on subjects most commanders do not share with their subordinates. He told the men that they could put up with the weather for now since it wouldn't be long before they moved south, where even mage-weather wouldn't make it snow. He had heard from Krawlven that they were going to invade a city to the south that promised great riches; Krawlven had said something about it being an act of personal revenge to destroy this place, but that those men who would aid him could all enjoy the spoils as well." A murmur ran through the chamber as the obvious location of the nebulous "city to the south" dawned on everyone. Hakeri continued. "Krawlven had told this mage that it was his plan to create these mage storms and let them destroy the city for him, moving in to collect the plunder only after the city had been sufficiently... subdued." He paused.

"Thank you Hakeri," Amberdrake said softly, dismissing the young gryphon with his voice in preparation for the Council to discuss the information.

Hakeri hesitated. "Sir, there is more. Not about the plans, but the man said more about Krawlven. He was drunk so it might not mean anything, but…"

"By all means Silver," Skandranon rumbled. "Continue."

Hakeri nodded sharply. "Yes sir. The mage said that Krawlven had seen his own death in a vision and that he was practically mad to prevent it. Krawlven had discovered some strange artifact in the north as he traveled there and apparently the possession of it affected him deeply. The mage was of the opinion that this artifact was… harmful to Krawlven's mental state. Also…" he hesitated again, more pronouncedly this time. "The mage implied- very indirectly, sir, so much so that I almost don't wish to mention it- that… this Krawlven had an informant in a place of power within the city to the south who would give him a signal when it was ready for him to take."

A gasp of indrawn breath echoed around the chamber.

_:Ha! Told you so.: _

Amberdrake jerked his head around reflexively, looking for the originator of that voice, before he remembered that it was Need. His eyes went to where she hung at Firesong's side; the look on the mage's face seemed to say he had heard the comment as well, but no one else in the chamber showed any indication of being contacted by the sword.

"Is that all?" Judeth asked Hakeri, her expression and tone wry, observing that what he had already said was quite enough- almost too much to digest at once. Hakeri nodded. "Very well. You may go take some very well deserved rest Scout." Hakeri nodded again, lifting one wing in a salute to the Council before he left the chamber. Once he was gone Judeth looked around. Amberdrake followed her gaze, taking in all of the faces in the chamber: himself, Skandranon, Judeth, Snowstar, Darian, Firesong (and dare he forget Need?), Moondance, and, standing by the wall observing, Thyer, Arek and Sunwolf. There was a traitor in their midst? It was hardly possible to imagine… Drake physically _couldn't_ imagine any of the other Council members doing any such thing, and to think it of the three mages gifted with the Star-Eyed's visions or of their three futuristic visitors either seemed just as blasphemous.

"Well." Judeth sat down. "This is some… interesting news."

Drake nodded, his forehead furrowing in thought. "True, but it doesn't change what needs to be done. We need to make sure the city is ready for the storm, or as ready as it can be. It could come as early as this evening and we need to be prepared."

Judeth looked up frowning. "Yes, that is the first priority. And starting as soon after as is possible we'll start reinforcing the northern border, setting up a warning system in case this Krawlven decides to start moving." She looked at Snowstar then swept her gaze around the chamber. "Do any of you know this Krawlven?"

Snowstar shook his head. "The name is unfamiliar to me." He turned his attention to Skan. "I hate it Skan, but we need more information."

The gryphon nodded, clacking his beak in annoyance. "I know. I will ready a patrol." He glanced over at Amberdrake who had gone suddenly still. "Drake? What is it?"

The _kestra'chern_ glanced up. "I… the name, Krawlven. It's… familiar to me. I just can't remember where I've heard it before." He shook himself and glanced over at their three guests. "Does this information have any particular significance to any of you?"

Firesong and Darian exchanged a look. "No," Darian said simply. Firesong's eyes flashed but he kept silent. Moondance shook his head, indicating that the name Krawlven meant nothing to him either.

Amberdrake observed the trio carefully; he remembered a part of their conversation last night, about Ma'ar still existing…

_:And you'll keep that to yourself if you're at all smart boy.: _

He started again. _Lady, some warning please! _He covered his face with his hand briefly as he thought at her, still unsure that she was able to hear him. _Why should I not mention such a thing? I trust these people. Unconditionally. This information could prove useful and their opinions invaluable. _

He didn't have to wait long for a response. _:You might trust them, and Firesong might trust you, but I don't trust anyone- particularly not in this circumstance. You're a _kestra'chern_- think of last night as a night with a client and keep it confidential.: _

He frowned, but saw her point. _Alright. _He took his hand away from his face to see Judeth giving him a worried look. He smiled reassuringly. "I think that's enough for today. Everyone else?" They all nodded their agreement. "Then let's be about the business of preparing the city for some stormy weather."

-o-

"Bright the day, honored visitor." Autumnsea, Sunwolf's wife, bowed her head to Firesong and smiled at him, welcoming him to their home. "This is Summerrain," she said, indicating the young girl standing near her, her thumb resolutely inserted in her mouth. Autumnsea guided the appendage out of that orifice with practiced ease and shooed the child inside.

While he was not particularly enamored of children, Firesong smiled winningly at Autumnsea. "She is lovely, just like her mother." The Kaled'a'in woman returned the smile, obviously pleased at the compliment. Firesong had accepted Sunwolf's invitation to spend the afternoon with his family mostly out of curiosity- curiosity that centered around the other mage's mysterious comments concerning Silverfox.

Sunwolf chuckled. "She is a little hellion just like her mother you mean." He raised an arm in defense as his wife swatted at him halfheartedly. "Come inside Firesong," he beckoned his visitor further into him home.

Firesong looked around him with a sense of wonder. The architecture was like nothing he had ever seen- the way the home was shaped out of the rock itself and carved with such an amazing precision. In some ways it echoed aspects of the rooms they had found at the Tower, but overall it was entirely different. The _feel_ of the home was different… this was a place where people _lived_; it was not yet filled with the ghosts of ages. The furnishings were unsettling in the way they echoed things he knew while also being completely and irrevocably unfamiliar. But he didn't have too much time to concern himself with such things; Sunwolf directed him out onto the balcony that spread all along the outer side of the home and from which Firesong could hear the soft discordant tones of an instrument being tuned. "My son," Sunwolf said gesturing to the young man sprawled on a bench, "Nightsinger." Firesong stepped out onto the balcony, took one look at Nightsinger, and froze.

The man was the spitting image of Silverfox. They could have been twins. The same person even… Firesong felt his breath stop in his chest as he stared at Nightsinger. Not at all uncomfortable under the scrutiny, Nightsinger raised an eyebrow and said with good humor, "And who is this Father?"

At the sound of his voice, Firesong felt as though he had been struck. He stumbled backwards through the door to the balcony, groping around blindly for the wall in an attempt to steady himself. He stumbled against a table and turned to put his hands on its firm surface as he concentrated on breathing deeply.

He felt Sunwolf touch his shoulder worriedly. "I am sorry. I did not mean for it to affect you so deeply."

Firesong let out a shuddering laugh. "He even _sounds_ like him. Goddess…" He shook his head, unsuccessfully trying to clear it. Sunwolf offered him a moistened cloth to wipe his face and a drink. Taking them, Firesong felt some of his equilibrium return. "I see what you meant before. The resemblance is… striking." He shook his head. Sunwolf nodded in mute agreement.

"Father?" Firesong looked up sharply and saw Nightsinger standing hesitantly in the doorway to the balcony. He glanced at Firesong with concern. "I do not mean to further distress your visitor, Father, but there is… someone here to see him." He retreated to the balcony before Sunwolf could ask what he meant; and before either of them could wonder about it too much, Aya came hurtling through the empty space that Nightsinger had just vacated. He thrust himself against Firesong's chest, keening worriedly.

Firesong raised his arms and curled them around Aya reassuringly. He looked up to see Sunwolf watching him with interest. "He sensed my distress," Firesong explained.

Sunwolf nodded. "He is a magnificent creature. I remember there were such birds that bonded with the Kaled'a'in, these pairs working as scouts for Urtho. They all went through one of the other gates. But I have never seen anything quite like this Aya of yours."

Firesong smiled. "That is not unusual. I bred this line of bondbirds myself." He took a deep breath; although this distraction had proven entertaining, he needed to speak with Nightsinger. He moved toward the balcony, Sunwolf staying where he was, sensing that Firesong needed to confront his son alone.

Stepping out onto the balcony again, Firesong looked down at Nightsinger, seated again on the bench, picking a melody out of the instrument on his lap. The musician was frowning slightly, his attention not on his task as he seemed deep in thought. He glanced up when Firesong moved closer, the movement catching his eye and alerting him to the mage's presence. "Sir, I…" he began, but Firesong gestured for his silence.

"You have nothing to apologize for. You… look _very _much like someone… someone I know. The resemblance startled me, that is all."

Nightsinger nodded, accepting the words. Firesong watched him. So. He was not _entirely_ like Silverfox; for one thing, his hair was all black, missing the distinctive streak that had, in part, given Silverfox his name. And he moved differently; the grace of a _kestra'chern_ of a different order than that of a musician. "What is that?" Firesong gestured to the instrument Nightsinger had been tuning.

The musician smiled. "It is an instrument of the Haighlei- a lap harp of some kind. I must confess, I have forgotten its name. It is unforgivably long! I shall have to ask my instructor when he comes again what it was and have him write it down this time. Of course, not knowing its name does not interfere with the playing of the instrument. I have something of a gift for that, or so I'm told…"

Firesong listened to him speak at length about the instrument and music in general, the unusual subject helping him distance Nightsinger from Silverfox as he listened to that too familiar voice speak with that too familiar humorous tone.

After awhile Nightsinger stopped talking and simply sat watching the mage. "Firesong," he said.

Firesong shivered. He stood suddenly, Aya squawking in alarm from his shoulder. "I must go. I…" He glanced at Nightsinger. "It was… good to meet you." He turned and fled the balcony, making his way hurriedly back through the house. He met Sunwolf in the entryway, but before he could say anything his host stopped him with an understanding nod and a reassuring squeeze of the shoulder. Firesong nodded back, then fled the house as well.

-o-

Firesong walked down the street, lost deep in his thoughts.

_:Watch out for him boy.: _

He frowned at Need's interruption. Glancing up, he didn't see any reason for her comment so he assumed she was addressing the mess they had just left behind. _:For Nightsinger? Why? _

_:And Sunwolf too. He brought you there, knowing that his son resembled your lover. Not that you'll pay me any more mind than you did before, but with the information we got this morning don't you think you need to exercise a bit more caution? Don't let him play with your heart.: _

It rankled, but she was right. Damn her, she was right far too often. If there was a traitor- which there might not be, but it had to be considered-Sunwolf was as much a candidate as anyone else. As much so as even Amberdrake or Skandranon… though something in his balked at even entertaining such thoughts.

_:I'll agree it's probably not any of the four Council members,:_ Need said. _:They've had plenty of opportunities to wreak havoc before this if they wanted to.:_

Firesong shook his head. _:You certainly are encouraging to talk to. I suppose everything we think we know about them is moot.: _

_:Yes and no. Don't try to put what you think you know on them without letting them prove it first.: _

He snorted. _:So who's your primary suspect, oh wise one?: _

_:Any of the three mages could be it. Of course, that assumes we're limiting the possibilities to those who where in the Council this morning.: _She hesitated. _:Firesong, it could be Moondance or Darian.: _

He stopped walking. Moondance? No. Darian? He narrowed his eyes. Firesong really did not like the man- he had the absolutely uncanny knack of echoing Need's advice, particularly when she was at her most annoying- but that didn't mean he was evil. _:I don't think so Need.: _

_:Why not?: _

"Firesong."

He started as a hand clamped down on his shoulder. Aya turned and mantled at the owner of the hand, hissing loudly, but Firesong put a hand on him, calming him. He turned to level a glare at Darian. _If my thoughts could summon people… why does it work only now, on him?_ "What are you doing here?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing." Darian glanced at him inquisitively before looking up at the sky. Firesong noticed that it was dark and clouds roiled across the expanse. He also noticed, with a surprised shiver, that it had gotten cold. "There's a storm coming in, a physical one to match the magical. Where were you headed?" Darian asked, curious.

Firesong shrugged impatiently. "Nowhere." He frowned as a raindrop struck his cheek. Well, one thing sure hadn't changed; magical disturbances still played havoc with the weather. It was an oddly comforting thing to notice, with all that was different, that the elements still reacted the same to the same events.

"Come on."

He looked over to see that Darian had ducked into a doorway, out of the weather.

Still somewhat preoccupied, Firesong followed, only to find himself in a warehouse. Aya winged over to perch on a box, shaking his feathers disdainfully. "Oh lovely." Firesong's lip curled as he ran one finger through the dust on top of a pile of boxes. "You have chosen magnificent accommodations Dar'ian."

Darian surprised him by breaking out in laughter. Firesong's eyes narrowed. Darian held up a hand placatingly as he smiled and tried to control his laughter. "No offense, meant. But… for me it is… interesting… to see that the reputation you once had was not completely undeserved."

"And just what do you mean by _that_?" Firesong glared at him outright, Aya starting to hiss again. "Who _are _you?" He shouted the questionat the other mage, frustration making him forget that he'd promised himself he didn't care about the infuriating man, or where he came from, or how he knew so damn much about Firesong.

Darian sobered. He was quiet a moment as he looked at Firesong, his eyes seeming to drink in the details of his face. "I… You are my teacher," he said simply. "You taught me magecraft. I knew your father, Starfall, and he convinced you to come to k'Valdemar Vale to be my teacher, since I was to be a Healing Adept."

Firesong stared at him. He'd never really thought about it before… but it made sense. Why hadn't he thought about it before? Slowly, he sat down on the box and took his head in his hands. "I…" He took a deep breath and looked up. "You said before you were from the future- what is the future to me." He paused again, his gaze distant as his lip curled with thoughtful chagrin. "I suppose I never thought to ask how everything turned out with the storms." His eyes returned to Darian. "Karal… does he…" He stood up abruptly. "No. I don't want to know." He started pacing. "His is the most dangerous job. The last time, he… But without him we don't have a chance." He stopped, staring off into the distance again. "I couldn't tell him to do it if I knew he was going to die." He laughed suddenly, a harsh, bitter sound. "Assuming of course we ever get back."

"He doesn't die." Darian's voice was so soft that Firesong wasn't sure he'd heard him. He turned around to face the other mage only to find the strangest expression on Darian's face. "Karal doesn't die," he said, more clearly, then he turned and punched his hand into one of the boxes near him, cracking the boards. Aya cried out in alarm, but Firesong could only stare at the other mage. "It's you, dammit!" Darian said suddenly, emotion choking his voice. "It's you… but I can't say… I…" He whirled around to face Firesong. "Need… the damn sword explodes in your hand, okay? That's what happens! That's why every time I look at you I can't…" He choked on his words again, but forced the rest of it out. "The sword explodes and it destroys your face."

Firesong stared at him. Slowly his legs went out from under him and he sank to the floor, just missing the edge of the box he had been sitting on before. His hands went to his face and for a long time there was only the sound of the rain.

"You never said you regretted it." Darian's voice was soft. "But I can't help but think… after all you've given me, if I could prevent that pain- take it away from you- wouldn't I? Wouldn't I at least try? Even... evenif it changes history, even if we never meet...wouldn't I try?" His voice trailed off into wistful silence.

Firesong remained silent, his face half hidden behind his hands. Goddess… first the mess with Nightsinger and now _this_… His face… Yes, he was beautiful and he knew it, and dammit why _shouldn't_ he be proud of it? If that was the cost of halting the mage storms… then couldn't someone else do it? An abstract part of his mind seemed determined to point out that such a wound was hardly mortal, while another part seemed determined to argue that this entire conversation was pointless, since there was no way he could get to the Tower from where he was anyway, or least not in the right time to be of any help.

That last thought stood out the most, and Firesong clung to it to pull him out of the swirling mess that was his mind. He probably wasn't ever going to get back there, so what did it matter? And while this brought him some comfort, it also left a gaping emptiness inside of him.

"Firesong?" He heard Darian's voice, soft and concerned.

"Darian," he replied just as softly, carefully pronouncing the other man's odd name, trying to keep the despair from his voice as he looked up. "Tell me something that I taught you."

Darian smiled softly. "You taught me…" He paused suddenly, as if something caught his attention; some small thing that he had been trying to remember. And then that something slammed into them, a wild disorientation that Firesong remembered having felt before. He felt as if he was falling, as if he was being shaken from side to side by a giant dog, as if the world was trying to cram itself inside his skull… And then, just as suddenly, it was gone.

Firesong gasped, raising a hand weakly to rub his face, attempting to ascertain that both were still attached to the same person. He'd forgotten… Their conversation had made his forget their immediate surroundings, or at least the fact that there was a mage storm due. The city had shields, but in the distant portion Firesong and Darian had wandered into, where there was little more to protect than buildings and supplies- nothing living- the shields were not as reinforced as they were closer to the center of the city. Firesong sensed an unfamiliar magical aura and glanced up to see Darian standing near him, looking down at him in concern. Firesong's eyes narrowed; was it Darian he sensed?

"I've supplemented the shields," Darian said, confirming Firesong's thought. "Are you alright?"

Firesong nodded dismissingly. "Nothing I haven't been through before, though it felt stronger than the last time." His lip curled sardonically. "At least I was already sitting down this time." Darian raised his eyebrow questioningly, and Firesong felt immensely _pleased_ that the story of the first mage storm he had encountered was something about himself that this stranger, who seemed to know everything, _did not_ know. But there was something else pressing on his mind as well. "You reinforced the shielding on this building?" he said, repeating what Darian had just said, completely unable to hide how impressed he was. To be able to remain focused enough while suffering from the debilitating effects of the mage storm to cast shields was very impressive indeed.

Darian grinned and shrugged dismissively."I have a very demanding teacher, who seems to take a particular pleasure in forcing me to learn how to exercise all my abilities under adverse conditions; conditions he has encountered and wished he could have been better prepared for."

It felt like a long time passed in which they simply stared at each other, wondering. Firesong had never been one overly given to thinking about the future. The present was well enough- and it was usually very good indeed. But now, as he really _looked_ at Darian for the first time, he felt a strange feeling overtake him. A feeling of looking at a future he could never have imagined, and was more than certain he didn't want, and finding himself wanting to be a part of it. They sat for awhile, as the storm blew itself out around them.

-o-


	6. Pulled from the Wreckage

-  
6 – Pulled from the Wreckage  
-

Moondance looked out through the growing darkness at the water of the bay, whipped up into a fury by the wind that battered it. The wind pulled at him, too, slamming into the hard wall of rock that mostly sheltered the doorway where he stood, and Moondance ducked back into the cave, pulling the door shut behind him. There were disadvantages to living in a home like this, but the view was incredible. Not to mention the several other amenities that appealed to the cavern's occupants, which was why they had selected it for their home. "The wind is bad," Moondance told Zhaneel as the sleek gryphon entered from one of the back rooms. "He probably got caught in some final preparation and is waiting it out now." The mage grinned as he watched Kesuki playing with the gryphon twins, though the falcon's hissing didn't sound at all playful.

Zhaneel sighed, reaching a taloned paw distractedly over to pry her eldest away from the bondbird. "That sounds like him. Though I almost wouldn't put it past that birdbrain to try and make it home through this."

"Let us pray that his common sense wins out this night."

She snorted. "Common sense? These two have more between them than that bird ever did." She bent her head to groom her younger son, holding the protesting bundle firmly in her paws as she did so. Moondance came over to her and touched her shoulder. He had become fast friends with this brave and exceptional gryphon in his short time here, and her moods were easy to read. Looking up at him, she sighed and released young Keenath. "Yes, I'm nervous," she admitted without preamble. "Not just that my featherbrained mate will try to fly home in this mess, but that…" She trailed off, her eyes desperate as they rested on her children.

"But that the world is ending before it begins, and all that you and your friends, fought, bled, and died for will become nothing," Moondance finished, stroking her ear tufts soothingly. She turned to look at him, nodding silently. He sighed. "I cannot tell you the future," he admitted as he leaned against her, both of them gaining strength from the contact. "For all that your future is where I am from, I fear I will return to find it irrevocably changed. I fear…" He stopped, and this time it was Zhaneel's turn to spread her wing over him comfortingly and _hurr_ softly.

"We both fear the same thing," she said, her voice almost lost in the romping of the twins, Tadrith letting out a particularly loud squall as Kesuki bit his tail. The falcon keened in victory, but hurriedly took to the air to make his escape as the twins regrouped to come after him. Landing on Moondance's shoulder, he mantled and hissed threateningly at the pair.

Moondance placed a calming hand on the falcon. _:Tired of your playmates already Kesuki? It looked like you were having such fun.:_

_:Keh.:_ The falcon made a gagging noise, expressing his opinion of loud children, and Moondance couldn't help but smile.

Zhaneel chuckled. "Kesuki you should stick around. I can leave the twins with you and go out flying again."

Kesuki shot her a look of raptorial horror and looked as if he was about to fly out the window and never come back. Moondance chuckled as well. _:Keh,:_ Kesuki shot him a withering look. _:Moondance _not _funny.:_

The twins watched this interchange with blinking eyes, which soon began to reopen a lot more slowly than they shut. Zhaneel rose. "Alright, time for bed," she said quietly as she shooed them gently into their room. They went reluctantly, but an especially loud gust of wind and a crack of thunder from outside sent them scampering back toward their mother with indignant squeals. She sighed resignedly; interpreting this sound as the permission it was, the young gryphons cried out happily and scampered to where their parent's nest was.

Zhaneel put out the central lights in the main room before she glanced over at her guest. Moondance was seated against one wall, staring off into nothing while Kesuki perched on his knee and peered up at him worriedly. "Moondance," she called, and he looked up, surprised, as if he'd forgotten she was there. "It will get cold by the door," she said softly.

He glanced over at the portal she referred to and noted his proximity to the raging wind outside. "I will be alright." Kesuki shifted to his shoulder and crouched against his neck, crooning softly.

Zhaneel paused, then went over to him. She lowered her head to touch his shoulder. His hands came up automatically to stroke through the feathers that covered her face. "Come inside with us."

He started. "What?"

She pulled back. "I'll not have my guests freezing by the front door," she said, her tone commanding. "Come."

He smiled up at her softly. "As you wish, my lady." Rising, he followed her into the side room where her and Skandranon's nest was. The twins were already there, collapsed in a heap of feathers that only twitched and sighed once to acknowledge their mother's presence before drifting off into complete oblivion.

Zhaneel curled up near her children, spreading one wing over them, beckoning to Moondance with the other. He slipped in underneath the wing and curled against her side, grinning softly and sighing as he leaned against her warmer body. "Thank you," he murmured.

"The twins are not the only ones who don't want to be alone this night," she replied. Kesuki, perched on Zhaneel's back and about to tuck his beak under a wing, stopped to turn and hiss at the gryphon that Moondance was not alone. "True enough," she allowed magnanimously. "But I am larger than you, and if you annoy me any further I will inhale you."

Moondance smothered a laugh and, with an indignant peep, Kesuki tucked his head firmly under his wing and fell asleep.

-o-

The sun was bright in the clear sky as Firesong turned his face up to it and felt the warmth fall on his skin. He shivered slightly, then turned back to the room and the conversation he'd been having.

Snowstar frowned in concentration as he looked down at the topmost of a pile of papers on the table, notes in his own cramped hand and Firesong's sprawl spattered across it. "I don't see how that can be. It's not possible. Opening a temporal rift requires a great deal of psychic energy. We were only barely able to do it with Kechara's help. With magic levels the way they are, and with the unpredictability higher than the availability, there's no way…"

"But Krawlven does not care what happens to others because of his magic working," Firesong interrupted him, flicking his hair back over his shoulder as he stepped closer to the table. "Perhaps he even promised a rival great rewards if he could accomplish the task and then slew the man after he had tried." He looked thoughtful. "If the attempt hadn't already killed him. The unpredictability of magic is not a factor. The unavailability is however, unless Krawlven has found a way around that."

Snowstar sighed. "We have to assume he has. Though, that assumes that what Hakeri overheard is correct and not just speculation on the part of men pretending to be important." The older mage ran his hands through his hair in weariness and frustration. The pair had been closeted almost all morning discussing the issue. Actually, early this morning, after the storm had passed and the sun risen, Snowstar had appropriated the empty room in order to have a quiet place to think through the many thoughts that would not align themselves in his mind when Firesong had appeared. He had looked slightly harried and as if he had not slept well, but Snowstar welcomed whatever insight the other mage could offer. Some of his ideas had been almost fantastical, but further scrutiny revealed their viability and truth.

Firesong leaned on the table, staring down at the pile of scribbled notes. "I can think of one way he acquired access to great stores of magic," he said hesitantly, one hand drifting hesitantly to rest on the hilt of the sword he wore as he toyed with it.

Snowstar raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

Firesong stared down at the table. "It requires that I tell you something… Something I said I would not tell anyone, though I didn't seriously think the information would have any relevance until just now." He looked up and met Snowstar's eyes fiercely, as if stripping the man to his very soul and examining him. "If I tell you, I would expect the same promise, and," his lip curled in irony, "I would expect that you would keep it better than me."

Snowstar met his eyes. "I can promise that whatever you reveal to me I will tell to no other, if that is your wish, unless I feel that knowledge of the information would benefit this city, in which case I would tell another member of the Council and trust to their judgment."

Firesong nodded. "Fair enough," he murmured. "Ma'ar did not die in the Cataclysm," he said without preamble. "He discovered a way to escape his body and hide in the void between Gates."

Snowstar didn't think to doubt such information; his eyes widened and he drew in his breath sharply. "Ma'ar is still…" he started, demandingly, but Firesong held up a hand to quiet him.

"No, I took care of him. Though," he frowned, "I suppose the answer is actually yes, since in this time he still exists."

Snowstar looked at him thoughtfully. "And you think this Krawlven is Ma'ar?"

"No," Firesong said. "I know it. I learned as much from An'desha, who bore the demon's presence in his body." Moving back to the previous subject, Firesong observed, "The void is an excellent place to obtain magic- if you can control it. And though it is wild, it's more predictable than what Krawlven could find here, in this time and place."

Snowstar frowned, his eyes narrowing as he pieced together several stray pieces of information, drawn by something other than where Krawlven was getting his energy. "So then it is his death by your hands that he has foreseen, if Hakeri's source knew what he was talking about."

Firesong dropped into a chair and drummed his fingers on the table in annoyance. "That is part of what doesn't make sense. I already killed him. In my time that is. There's no way to alter that by bringing me here, or by killing me here if it comes to that."

"But he didn't bring you here; we did." Snowstar started pacing again. "That cannot be his goal. And yet… This artifact Krawlven possesses, I feel there is some importance in it that we have yet to discover."

"That is a valid assumption," a new voice said, and Snowstar looked up to see Darian standing in the doorway looking in. Snowstar motioned him in.

Firesong frowned before letting his lip curl sardonically as Darian stepped closer to the table to glance down at the notes scattered across it. "I told him about Ma'ar," he said without preamble, Darian glancing up in surprise as Firesong continued, "I agreed with your theory initially, because I did not see how the information could be useful. However, that has changed."

"I believe," Snowstar interjected, "Krawlven is pulling energy from the void between gates, possibly through an intermediary. This vast store of magical energy allowed him to create an abortive temporal portal. This portal collapsed in on itself, which expulsion of magic triggered our second cataclysm and created a temporal rift."

"Wait," Darian frowned in confusion, "How do you know all that? And why weren't we told before?"

Snowstar sighed. "It was obvious to me from the start. I could feel a change, a shift in the magical energy around me. However, I lacked the… vocabulary, let us say, to explain it in a way that made any sense to anyone not of a certain level of mage training. Firesong was courteous enough to help me put words to what I was feeling."

"No one else could feel it?" Darian reached out to touch a paper on the table, not looking at Firesong.

"No one who could explain it any better than I could. It was a subtle shift- it would probably require an especial sensitivity to the currents of magical energy that most mages do not develop."

"So, do we know why Krawlven was trying to create a temporal portal? Or was his goal all along to trigger a cataclysm?"

"Hakeri overheard that Krawlven foresaw his death and was attempting to prevent it," Firesong said quietly. "I would imagine that was why he was creating a temporal gate."

"And when it didn't work, he quickly seized on something else to do with all the energy he had unleashed." Darian frowned as he moved some pages aside and looked over a map. "We need more information."

Snowstar frowned. "I wish his camp was not so far away," he murmured, waving off the raised eyebrows the other two mages greeted that statement with. "Well, I wish we could scout his camp more easily. I hate sending patrols so far away."

Darian stared at the map thoughtfully. "I know." He hesitated a moment before adding contemplatively, "I… might know a way to fix that." Firesong and Snowstar both turned to look at him.

"And why have you not mentioned it before?" Firesong demanded.

Darian met his eyes for the first time since entering the room. Firesong looked away. "Because I am not sure it would work; no, I'm almost certain it _won't_ work. And sometimes I forget that…" He paused but continued softly, "That you don't remember everything I think you do."

Snowstar felt the tension between the two thicken noticeably. "Well," he said, perhaps too loudly, "I think we've been in here too long. Time for some fresh air and some lunch. And we'll talk more later on."

Firesong nodded curtly before rising from his seat and leaving. Darian looked after him for a moment before nodding to Snowstar and leaving in a different direction.

-o-

Darian started down the hallway moodily, frowning as he thought about what he had been discussing with Snowstar and Firesong, whether or not what he knew about long distance transportation spells would work here, and what Firesong was thinking. He wanted to talk more with Firesong, particularly about the technique the man- or a future version of him- had worked with Darian to lay the groundwork for, but Firesong was obviously not in the mood to talk, especially not to Darian.

Having decided that he should make sure Kuari was being taken care of, Darian was chatting mentally with his bird and not really paying attention to where he was going when he passed by a room and heard voices inside. He paused, listening for Arek since he wanted to ask the other mage where would be a good place to take Kuari hunting later on, but was disappointed when he identified the voices of the other two mages instead of the one he was looking for.

"The Council should be informed immediately," Thyer was saying. From where he stood, Darian could see the man pacing up and down the length of a large window.

Sunwolf was watching him, his long hair whispering as it moved, his head following the movements of his fellow mage. "I would caution that you attempt to better understand your source before presenting the information to the Council," he said. His voice was amused but Darian could not see his face from where he stood.

"Understand?!" Thyer stopped, turning to face Sunwolf. "What is to understand? We're flailing around in the dark; the exalted Council is not doing much better. And your counsel is that I should wait before presenting possibly integral information?"

"Premature action could focus attention in the wrong direction." Sunwolf's voice was no longer amused. "I advise that you wait. And if that was all you wished to discuss with me I must be leaving." He looked significantly at Thyer. "The Council is meeting later this day." He turned to leave the room, almost colliding with Darian who pretended he had just arrived.

"Ah, hello." Darian nodded politely to Sunwolf, noticed Thyer and nodded to him as well, and continued to glance around the room as if searching for something. "Arek is not with you? I thought he might be…" He trailed off, shrugging noncommittally. "Ah well. Perhaps Jewel will know where he is. Until later gentlemen," he offered in parting before turning and himself leaving.

Once out of sight of the pair, Darian slowed his quick walk and ran through in his head the conversation he had overheard. It was… suspicious, and as loathe as he was to admit that there was a spy as rumored, and that there was a possibility it was one of the mages, it was a case where being suspicious had more advantages than blind faith.

He found Jewel and Kuari in his rooms, the _hertasi_ stroking fingers through the huge bird's feathers obviously having just fed the owl. He smiled at her. "Have you seen Arek?" he asked.

Jewel tilted her head to the side as she thought. "No, Darian. Not today. I will tell the others you are looking for him if you like."

"Thank you, that would be helpful." He paused, thinking. "Though I suppose he will be at the meeting later. At any rate, I was just wondering where would be a good place to take Kuari hunting later on tonight. I need to keep my tracking skills fresh as much as he does, and it would be beneficial to get to know this world a little better."

Jewel nodded approvingly. "Up on the top of the cliff would be a good place. The land is not cultivated yet and it has open areas as well as forest."

"Excellent." Darian soothed a hand over Kuari's feathers, the owl looking up at him with anticipation. "We'll hunt there tonight." Kuari _hurred_ in contented agreement.

-o-

Skandranon looked out over the lower city from the roof of the Council building, the afternoon sun warm on his back and the futuristic mage Moondance standing beside him. "I trust you spent the night well."

Moondance grinned mischievously. "As well as _you_ usually do, old bird."

Skan narrowed his eyes at the man for a moment, then snorted. "I can assure you human, I usually spend them _far_ better than _either_ of us spent last night." He arched his neck, his crest rising, the light wind toying with the feathers. Moondance laughed outright, slapping Skan's shoulder good-naturedly. Hearing a noise behind him, Skandranon turned to see Amberdrake climbing the stairs. Trepidation rose, like an itch, in the back of his throat at the apprehension on his old friend's face. "Drake? What is it?"

Amberdrake shivered, though the day was not cold. "I remembered," he murmured. Moondance stepped away from the pair, ready to leave them; Drake held out a hand to stop him. "No; stay, if you would. You should hear this- you will, sooner or later." Moondance nodded, moving to stand closer to the pair and reaching out a hand to rest it on Skandranon's shoulder. Amberdrake mirrored the action, some of his tension leaving him as he buried his hand in the warmth of the gryphon's shoulder. Skan looked as him worriedly.

"Drake, what is it you remember?" he asked softly.

Amberdrake looked up at him. "The name, Krawlven. I'd heard it before, somewhere, but I couldn't remember where." He took a deep breath. "I remembered."

Moondance felt a chill pass through him, and he shivered too. "Did you know this man who is our enemy?"

"No," he said. "It wasn't a man who had that name when I heard it." He turned to Moondance. "When I was younger my parents sent me away for schooling; they sent me to Predain." He hesitated and Skan moved closer to him, spreading a wing protectively over his friend; he knew Amberdrake's past wasn't a nice place to visit, as was the case for most of those who had survived Ma'ar. "I was there when Ma'ar came to power." Drake looked up at Moondance to see if he understood; the mage's eyes were dark with empathy and Drake glanced over to Skan. "Krawlven is a figure in a prophecy they have in that country." He frowned. "More precisely, it is the name of one of their gods. A lesser god, but still…"

Skan shifted his weight. "What was this prophecy?"

Amberdrake's smile grew sardonic. "He was a god that would be born in human flesh in order to rid the country of foreign riffraff. Or at least that's how the prophecy was quoted to me." Skandranon ground his beak and Drake placed his hand again on the gryphon's shoulder. "Peace; it is the distant past now." He returned to his telling. "It was thought by many that Ma'ar's coming was the fulfillment of this prophecy, but others thought that Ma'ar was but a forerunner of the god." He paused, shivering. "I'm not sure what this means for us. I doubt it is a god that we face, but…"

"Close enough," Moondance murmured under his breath, his eyes cast out over the city.

Amberdrake turned to Skandranon, glancing sidelong at Moondance before he spoke. "Skan…" He stopped, unsure as to how to continue. "About Ma'ar…"

"Ma'ar was not destroyed in the cataclysm." Moondance turned away from the city to look at the man and the slack-jawed gryphon watching him. "At least if Firesong is to be believed." He shook long hair back over his shoulders and added more softly, "I do not doubt him."

"But…" Skandranon turned his incredulous gaze on Amberdrake who could only look at him with sympathy. "I… I saw him! He stabbed himself in the chest! He couldn't have survived…"

Moondance shook his head. "His body did not, but his soul did."

Skan sat down, abruptly, his mouth still gaping open. "I can't…" He shook himself, as if to shake off the words being spoken to him.

"Skan." Drake took him by the beak, raising his face. "This knowledge does not in any way diminish what you did! You rid us of him. We wouldn't have made it if he had still been hunting us."

Skan shook himself again. "But he is back now," he said grimly. "He hunts us yet again." Eyes hard, he met Moondance's gaze.

"I suppose that is why we are here to help," the mage said quietly.

The gryphon sighed, his anger at Ma'ar's return changing to chagrin. "Even if you are mistaken, it matters little; whoever this Krawlven is, he still wants us dead. Help, particularly that of a higher order, is welcome," he said grudgingly, glancing upward as if he might see the Star-Eyed watching over them. "Even more so if our foe has divine aid of his own."

-o-

"Arek!" Darian, on his way in to the Council meeting, saw the mage ahead of him and called out his name. Arek turned to him, a smile of greeting displacing the worried look that was settled heavily over his features. He adjusted his spectacles nervously as Darian came toward him.

"Darian," he greeted, his manner as eager to please as ever, but Darian sensed that something was bothering him deeply.

"Are you alright?" Darian rested a hand on the other mage's shoulder, oblivious to the people milling about them, some of them entering the Council chamber while others lingered outside or moved off on other business.

"I…" glancing around him, Arek lowered his voice. "No, I'm not, Darian. I…" He hesitated again, and Darian urged him aside to a secluded corner since he seemed wary of being overheard. "I had another vision," Arek burst out. "Like the ones I had before we brought you here. It… oh, Darian it was very bad." Shaking with the aftereffects of the vision, he looked around himself hopelessly. "I… I think Hakeri was right. There is a traitor in the Council."

Darian gripped the other mage's arm harder than he intended, eliciting a small sound of protest. Releasing Arek, Darian leaned down to whisper in his ear. "Tell no one else what you have told me. Meet with me after the Council and we'll talk more." The younger man nodded, looking up at Darian worriedly. "It'll be alright." Darian forced a smile. "We'll figure it out," he promised. Arek nodded, turning and leaving without another word to go into the Council chamber.

Darian pressed a hand to his forehead and took a deep breath before letting it out slowly. He wished Kuari was with him; the bird's physical presence would have been a comfort, but carrying him around the halls everywhere wasn't really practical.

Entering the Council chamber, Darian saw Moondance and Amberdrake already there and speaking with each other. Judeth was present, as was Skandranon, and a trio of younger gryphons. As Darian took his seat he glanced over to see Arek seated next to Sunwolf. Snowstar, Thyer, and Firesong entered the chamber and the Council began. Darian saw Skandranon shoot Firesong an evaluative look.

"After our initial scout returned," Judeth began without preamble, "several other groups were sent out in several directions with different specific tasks. Niehtre's group was the first to return. Your report Silver."

"Ourrr misssion," Niehtre, a slender, dark gryphon with a heavy accent, started with his group's report, "wasss to rrremain at higherrr altitudesss and ssscout along a norrrtheasssterrrly line until we rrreached the leading edge of what it wasss the enemy wasss sssending againssst us. The firrrssst two daysss, after leaving White Grrryphon'sss terrritory, we sssaw no sssignsss. The thirrrd day, Chisssae wasss in charrrge of the left flank." He nodded to the gryphon on his immediate right.

The huge broadwing returned the nod. "While Niehtre scouted down the center of our designated territory, I circled away to the west." He flexed his claws, as if speaking reminded him of what he'd seen, but his booming voice soon echoed through the chamber again. "Halfway through the day I saw smoke away to the west of our position. We dissolved the current formation and circled higher in an effort to maintain invisibility. It was mid-afternoon before we were over the area where the smoke was originating." He paused. "It was an army, moving south." Chisae glanced at the third member of the group, but it was Niehtre who interrupted and officially changed narrators.

"Sssyria's visssion wasss the bessst frrrom the height we werrre at." Niehtre nodded to the third member of the group.

"We followed them for the rest of the day and I counted them," the lean female replied, her words clipped and carefully spoken. "900 cavalry, 1500 foot soldiers, 50 wagons containing armaments and supplies." She paused adding with a soft trill, "No sign of _makaar_. They did have some strange beasts in cages among the wagons, but they were wingless." Syria shifted her weight. "I counted 5 cages. I believe each housed only one creature. I do not know what they were." She took a half step backwards nervously and glanced at her flight leader.

Niehtre nodded to her before turning to Skandranon. "That is all we have to report."

Skan nodded. "Thank you Silvers." The trio inclined their heads for a moment before they departed the room.

Judeth rose, to open discussion of the information, but Thyer stood, commanding her attention. "I also have something to report," he said. Sunwolf shot him a dark look, but Darian thought he was the only one who noticed. Judeth nodded to him in surprise, ceding him the floor. Stepping forward, Thyer folded his arms solmenly. "After our last meeting, I thought deeply about what had been said. Perhaps this is what triggered it but I had a dream, a dream I believe was sent by the Star-Eyed. I dreamed that we held council exactly as we had yesterday, and a man came before us speaking lies and withholding information." He paused, letting his gaze sweep around the room imperiously. Arek flinched visibly and Darian prayed no one else saw it as they turned to each other, murmuring. Darian supposed this confirmed Hakeri's original report of a traitor, at least in most people's minds.

"I could not see the man's face," Thyer continued, "but the dream ended with the voice of the Star-Eyed speaking these words to me: Beware he who is not one of you. His pain will be your betrayal."

While the murmurs had quieted as Thyer spoke, the volume of them rose with that statement.

"Well, that's wonderfully vague, and rather spectacularly unhelpful," Firesong observed dryly.

"I would have to agree," Snowstar said, his brow furrowed. "Though such warnings are rarely specific."

"'Not one of us,'" Judeth mused. "That statement could have several implications."

Thyer shrugged. "I merely tell what was revealed to me."

"Surely you must have _something _more you can add." Judeth frowned. "Some feeling that existed in the dream that would help us to narrow the field?"

Thyer hesitated. "There was... something. I... had the feeling that the pain mentioned was one that was very deep. And... I felt a sense of..." he raised beseeching eyes to meet Judeth's, "personal failure when the Star-Eyed said the first part."

"Personal failure, huh?" Judeth frowned again, more severely, as she met the eyes of everyone seated around the table. She sighed, shaking her head, as something in her refused to believe that any one of these would be capable of such betrayal. "We can only hope that we understand it before we endanger ourselves too much. In the meantime, we must continue with our preparations."

Darian found himself watching the Council members. If Thyer was right... Darian found himself as incapable of believing it as Judeth was. But he had an idea that might help them, and he needed some input to make sure it was feasible. He was going to have to trust someone, though trust was not something he was really willing to impart at the moment. He was, for all intents and purposes, alone in this world and whoever he chose to trust was the most likely to betray him.

Darian sighed; enough thinking, he was going to take Kuari hunting after he was through with all this and try, for awhile, to push overanalyzing to the back of his mind.

-o-

It was much later in the evening when Firesong, finding sleep elusive, found himself again in the garden where Sunwolf had first taken him two days ago. Was this really only the third day he had been in this place? It felt immeasurably longer. And three days may be all the world had left, back on the other end of things... the other end of time. Was three days here the same as three days there, or did time move differently? He shook his head angrily, trying to rid himself of this unproductive wondering.

"Firesong?"

The mage looked up at the sound of his name, shivers running over his skin. "Nightsinger," he returned flatly- or so he hoped; his voice was not entirely under his control.

The man slipped out of the darkness to stand near Firesong, both of them watching Aya as the firebird perched on a nearby tree and cleaned his shimmering feathers. There was silence between them for awhile and Firesong was glad for it. All too soon he felt Nightsinger stirring, but rather than speaking the young man leaned a bit closer to Firesong, their hands brushing.

Firesong closed his eyes. He was cold and lonely and Nightsinger was very attractive. Though younger than Firesong, the other man was well above the age of consent. So why- Firesong wondered as Nightsinger leaned closer, his arm sliding around Firesong's body- why did the mage feel that to do this would be so very _wrong_? With a sigh, Firesong slid away from that arm. _Perhaps_, he thought, _because it is not _his _name I will be calling_. "I am sorry, I cannot."

"I know." Nightsinger turned to try and catch the mage's eye. "I know about your friend- Silverfox." His eyes were wide and dark as he held Firesong's startled gaze. "It's alright; I don't mind."

Firesong wasn't sure he was entirely capable of responding to that comment with words. His mouth opened, but it was Darian's voice that suddenly cut through the darkness.

"Firesong." The other mage was walking toward the pair standing in the garden, his owl perched on his shoulder; they looked to have just been hunting. "I'm sorry to interrupt," he said, his eyes darting to Nightsinger before they focused, unreadable, on Firesong. "But we need to talk."

Firesong glared at the other mage, not about to admit how glad he was for the interruption. "Talk?" He rolled his eyes with a sign. "What about?"

Darian looked at Nightsinger, holding the younger man's gaze until he bowed slightly and walked away. "About how we're going to go to where Krawlven is," Darian answered evenly, turning to meet Firesong's incredulous gaze with a grin. "Come. We should find Moondance, and probably Amberdrake."

"Why stop there?" Firesong grumbled. "Why not invite the whole council? And in case the supposed traitor is not among them tonight, why don't we issue a citywide announcement of what we're doing, hmm?"

His only reply was Darian's laughter as the man walked off toward Moondance's room.

-o-


	7. Night Walker

Hello? _[cricket] _Sigh...

(There's a bit of an odd time overlap between the last chapter and beginning of this one, just fyi.)

* * *

-  
7 – Night Walker  
-

The evening breeze blew coolly up off the water and up the cliff toward him as Darian raised his hand in a silent signal. He felt the silent assent which answered his signal as noiseless wings cast a shadow between him and the moon. Kuari circled above him, scanning the treetops with keen eyes as he swept down over the forest toward the open plain atop the city cliffs. Borrowing the owl's eyes Darian observed the changing landscape below in a way human eyes could have never appreciated, assuming they could have had a similar aerial view. Kuari was sensitive to the changes in this time in ways Darian hadn't even considered; the owl noticed the small differences between the world that lay around him and the hunting ground he was used to.

Their hunting was not for food but as Kuari noted the series of creatures that scurried away beneath his gaze it was with an echo of regret. _:Easy catch,: _he thought.

_:You'll get fat,: _Darian warned, more than a touch of humor in his voice, _:And I won't carry you with me anymore.:_

Kuari's response was derisive and Darian smiled to himself as he made his own way over the rough ground. It wasn't particularly hard going, but it was practice, keeping his mind on Kuari and on his own feet at the same time. He came to the edge of the cliff and looked down over the city, Kuari's silent shadow casting over it. The wind was cool on his face; it was a quiet, peaceful evening not unlike one he would have spent with a certain someone.

_Keisha_...

He slammed down on that thought, forced it behind his guard. He couldn't think about that now. He couldn't think about her.

Kuari hovered over him, Darian catching the bird's weight on his arm and falling into a crouch as the owl settled on his shoulder. Kuari's wings spread over him as the bird lovingly combed his beak through Darian's hair. _:Hurts,: _he hurred softly. _:Hurts but not alone.:_

Darian sighed, his eyes closed. _:I can't let it,: _he told Kuari, receiving only a questioning thought in response. _:I can't let it hurt.: _Darian sighed again. _:Don't worry about it, bird.: _He continued aloud, "I'll deal with it later, when I have time. Now, we need to get back." He stood, tossing Kuari back into the air before making his way to the steps down the cliff side. _:I think I need to have a talk with Firesong. And a few other mages as well...:_

-o-

"It requires an even number of mages to work." Darian looked around at the group he and Firesong had gathered, seated around the empty, candlelit room they had ended up in. He sat back in his seat, his expression doubtful. "And we'd never tested it with multiple people, or under circumstances like this." He met the eyes of Amberdrake, Moondance, Arek, Thyer, Sunwolf, and, lastly, Firesong.

Firesong leaned forward, his own expression intent as he worked through the idea Darian had just outlined. "But it does require very little actual magic, which is why you were able to make it work as you," he stumbled, "as we did, after the Mage Storms."

Darian grinned. "Yes. That is true. But," he glanced over at Amberdrake then around at the rest of the circle, "what I'm saying is I'm not sure it'll work here, in this place, and now," he paused for a moment, "without half the knowledge it took to make it work in the first place."

"Oh I don't know." Firesong frowned thoughtfully as he leaned back in his chair, trying to fight a grin that pulled at the corner of his mouth. "I think it's less than _half _we're missing." Darian's own grin spread into a smirk which he tried to hide as well, given the solemnity of the situation. "And while I like the odds of having six of us to face whatever we find at the other end of our journey, I also would like to leave behind someone capable of formulating an alternate plan in case this doesn't go well."

Thyer frowned and stood, arms folded over his chest. "I thought that was why we were not involving Snowstar in this discussion."

"That is one reason, true," Sunwolf rested his chin in his hand as he stared off into the distance contemplatively. "But I agree with Firesong." His gaze returned to his fellow mages. "I would volunteer to remain behind if one of us must stay."

"That leaves you with an odd number," Amberdrake observed, wondering why he had been chosen to be a part of this discussion.

_:Does it? I wouldn't be so sure about that if I were you boy.:_

Darian saw Amberdrake jump, as he always did when Need spoke. Not that he could fault the man; the sword was damn uncanny. "You have something to add, Need?" The sword's presence and abilities had been revealed to the other mages, much to Need's exasperation.

Her response was more caustic than usual. _:You need another mage to make it even? Well, I'm a mage. All I need is a body to carry me.:_

Darian traded a glance with Firesong; Firesong did not seem adverse to the idea of Need getting as far away from him as possible. Darian let his eyes, along with those of others in the room, drift toward the sole non-mage present. Amberdrake looked hesitant but thoughtful. Darian frowned; the success of this mission was seriously up for debate- he wasn't sure he wanted to rob the city of one of its leaders, not to mention Amberdrake's family. Though he wasn't going to deny the man if he wanted to be a part of the experiment; and there was also the matter of Amberdrake being male... Need had made the offer and Darian wondered how picky she would be about the probable lack of candidates they would have. It was far more likely they would have to leave behind another mage to make it even.

_:I do like shaking that boy up,:_ Need murmured with humor in Darian's head and he could tell that these words were only for him. _:He's far too serious. I'm guessing he, for one, doesn't take me up on the offer. I think he's a little scared of me. I don't suppose there are any other likely candidates you can think of? If you've a better one, I'm all ears.:_

Darian snorted at that final mental image. _:I'm sure you are Need.:_

"I wonder if I am not the best candidate for such an undertaking," Amberdrake was saying to the eyes that were on him when Darian returned his mind to the conversation.

Firesong was about to answer him when the door was thrust open. Skandranon and Zhaneel entered, the Black Gryphon looked slightly chagrined while his mate held her head high with a certain stubbornness. She cast her eyes around the room. "I am going with you," she said, her voice clear and firm.

The room was silent for a moment. "Not that we won't welcome your aid," Firesong said silkily, "but why the sudden interest? And how do you know we're going anywhere, for that matter?"

Skandranon leaned back to groom his beak through the feathers on her neck in encouragement as she spoke. "Last night I had a dream." She shifted her feet. "Though I have never before seen her, the Star-Eyed appeared to me in all her glory." The room's silence took on an awed air as Zhaneel ducked her head humbly. "She told me that I was to bear the mage-sword Need into battle with Ma'ar."

Darian exchanged glances with Arek, who looked surprised but not altogether shocked. "Ma'ar?"

Skan grumbled. "Yes Ma'ar. Is there anyone who doesn't know by now?"

_:Gryphons are inherently magical creatures,: _Need said, as always, ignoring everything that was going on to cut straight to the root of the issue. _:That should make our association fairly pleasurable. As long as you watch your claws girly.: _

Unable to pinpoint a source toward which to direct her glare, Zhaneel shot it toward the whole group, mantling slightly. "As soon as you watch your tongue, old woman."

_:Oh, I like her,: _Need said to Darian again, and Darian wondered why the sword was singling him out. His gaze rested briefly on Firesong, and Need answered him herself. _:You guessed it boy. He hasn't talked to me since your little revelation.: _Was it just Darian or did she sound... regretful? _:Lucky you, the bearer of bad news gets stuck with the voice of reason in his head. Still glad you said something?:_

Her tone was jocular, but Darian sensed some real bite behind her attempt at humor. _:Yes,: _he responded truthfully. _:It was something I had to say. I'm sorry though if it has strained things between you.: _

_:Oh don't give yourself too much credit.: _He felt a sensation similar to someone shuffling their feet. _:He's been out of sorts since we got here.: _There was a pause. _:You know, there is no greater energy for salvation than that of a mother.: _It took Darian a moment to realize that Need had switched conversation topics.

_:Zhaneel? You think she will be that integral to what we need to do?:_

Need seemed to shrug. _:I'm not sure; that kind of sight is not one of my gifts. But I can tell you one thing, boy- if this crack team you've put together can't do it, no one can.: _She paused. _:If that damned traitor doesn't get us first.:_

Darian sighed, rubbing his temples. _:Always the optimist, aren't we?:_

_:Got that right.:_

-o-

Moondance settled the hastily constructed sword-harness across Zhaneel's shoulders, Need's scabbard falling between her shoulder blades, down the middle of her back. She spread her wings and reared up, testing the range of motion of all her limbs and finding them not hampered. She reached her forearm back and drew the sword, her hand-like claws grasping the hilt easily. She chuckled at something Need said to her before she returned the sword to its place, fixing the flap that would hold the sword safely in its scabbard during whatever aerial maneuvers Zhaneel felt needed to be undertaken. She nodded and turned to Moondance. "I am ready."

He nodded in response. "Darian and Firesong are still talking, but we will be leaving as soon as they are done." For most of those going on this trip there was little to gather to bring with them, since they had brought so little with them to this city in the first place. A hertasi was feeding the birds, and small but compact packs of weapons and supplies had been put together for each human to carry. Only Zhaneel and Arek were leaving anything behind in White Gryphon; Thyer had no family, and the three Healing Adepts had not been in the city long enough to form lasting attachments.

Three days... Was that how long it had been? They had been days too full to be so few, Moondance thought to himself. And for all that he ached for his own home, this city was not a bad place to risk himself to defend.

He turned to Thyer, who was standing near them, watching Darian and Firesong arguing out the best way to adapt the spell that would transport them all to the place the scouts had been; to near where Ma'ar was.

Thyer frowned. "I pray they finish their discussing soon. Having decided on a course of action, the waiting is what will destroy us." He turned away, walking over to look out the window, then beginning to pace near it, releasing pent up energy.

Zhaneel watched him, her sharp eyes narrowed appraisingly. "He is greatly stressed. I hope he lasts the mission."

Moondance regarded her quizzically. "Is there some reason he should not?"

Zhaneel hesitated, continuing in a low voice. "Thyer's... daughter. She died on the journey to White Gryphon; they were very close. I have heard that he he has not been the same man since it happened, and I see now that he is indeed... fragile." She cocked her head, listening to Need, then narrowed her eyes further, distaste entering her expression.

Moondance glanced at the man. "I think you doubt him too much."

Zhaneel shrugged. "I pray it is so. I do not know him well, only by reputation, and he is quite a mage." She butted her head gently against Moondance and her mouth fell open in a grin to cover her unease. "I will tell you the truth- I am jumping at shadows. I am... not sure of why I must come with you, only that I must."

Moondance put his arms around her neck comfortingly. "That the Star-Eyed has taken such an interest is a favorable sign, I believe, for the mission's success. As for why it must be you," he murmured in her ear, smiling easily, "that is because you are a warrior without peer and without you we would be lost."

She snorted disbelievingly, then head-butted him again in good humor. "Why thank you mage. Now, I must go bid my mate farewell. I do not know how he will manage without my peerless self."

Moondance laughed. "Go on then, off with you."

Zhaneel picked her way across the room to where Skandranon stood beside Sunwolf, listening to Firesong and Darian. He looked up from the conversation as soon as she approached and the pair of them slipped out past the restless mages, down the hall to a wide window and out into the night sky. Zhaneel leapt into the air, spreading her wings and catching a thermal, rising up over the city. She glanced down coyly at her mate; he had followed her into the sky but was content for the moment to continue following her and admiring the view. She chuckled, wheeling through the air, relishing in the feel of it against her feathers. She felt the touch of Need in the back of her mind as the sword enjoyed the experience of flying for the first time, first hand through the mind connection with Zhaneel.

Wheeling above the cliff, Zhaneel landed lightly, Skan landing neatly beside her. He turned to her and lay his head across her shoulder, sighing. "I know you must go; we have already discussed it. Just know that there will be nothing left of me when you return- after putting up with those two scoundrels you call our children."

She huffed good naturedly, but did not retort. As light as they would try to make of it, neither of them wanted this parting. "I will return," she said firmly, "and you will be here."

He leaned back, looking at her. "Yes," he replied simply.

The two of them lay on the ridge, looking down over the sleeping city, for awhile longer, relishing each moment.

-o-

Firesong stood by the window, looking out over the city. Their discussion had ended but Darian walked over to him now, seeing the other mage shiver as a cool wind blew over him. He glanced at Darian, murmuring, "Does time stop everywhere when one has been drawn out of it? If not, the Mage Storms have torn apart my time by now."

Darian shivered in his own turn. "I wonder," he whispered, looking out at the dark night. "Keisha will be worried for me." His hands curled tightly into fists and he bit back a sob. "I... have fought to keep myself from thinking of her..." His eyes closed. "Because to think of her, of her not being here, makes it real." He could see her now, her hair flying about her face, her smile as she welcomed him home, the warm glow of her skin as she lay beside him...

"How does that make it any more or less real than anything else?" Firesong's sardonic voice shocked Darian out of his reverie. "To speak her name changes nothing about the world." His expression was shadowed as he leaned out of the window, a breeze catching and rippling through the length of his hair. "She is still as absent from you as Starwind is from Moondance, and you feel it just as deeply though the wound does not cut you to your soul."

Darian breathed in, slowly. "True enough."

Firesong turned toward him, silver eyes glinting in the light from the room behind Darian. He turned away abruptly, turning back to the night sky. "It was a good thought of yours, to remember this idea we had. I wonder, now that I already know of it will I still remember it when I meet you again for the first time? Perhaps this was none of mine to begin with, hmm? Perhaps the invention is yours solely."

Darian shook his head; pulling his mind away from Keisha was difficult and he was angry that Firesong didn't seem to understand how much being without her affected him. "If you want to give me all the credit I am too wearied of arguing at this point to debate yet something else with you, never mind this supremely un-Firesong-like behavior." He turned away, back to the room, but the sound of laughter made him stop.

"Come now," Firesong admonished him. "You know as well as I we needed to discuss the relative points of comparison between the scouts' accounts of the geography, not to mention dividing the process equally between all participants." He turned away from the window finally, completely- as if leaving more than the window- and looked at Darian searchingly. "I was simply musing on the paradox of time, and attempting to divert your attention from your absent lady."

Darian sighed, feeling tension wash out of him with the exhaled breath. "Perhaps," he said after a moment, "we will find that time is indeed no paradox at all and it is only created now that we are drawn out of it." His voice was light, musing as well, but after a moment his facade crumbled and he buried his face in his hands. "Of us all, I alone have no future reference, no assurance that there is something in the world beyond what I have already lived. No promise at all that this will work. What if this is the end of... of everything?"

Firesong touched his arm reassuringly, the reached up and smacked him across the back of the head.

"Ow, dammit!" Darian glared at him. "What purpose did that serve?!"

"Purpose?" Firesong questioned with mock innocence. "Why I should think it obvious." He walked away, laughing.

-o-

Arek felt a strange sensation of peace wash over him as he watched Darian drawing out the diagram and arranging the six players in their places with occasional comments from Firesong. Peace like as he had not felt since before his first vision of this coming evil and while his recent vision was still an echo in the back of his mind, it was more of a possibility rather than a certainty. To him the future appeared in ways like this- ways of likelihood and probability, of strong implausibility and near undeniableness.

He glanced to where Sunwolf stood to the side, talking softly with Amberdrake and the newly arrived Snowstar, the three of them outside the form Darian was drawing. Curiously enough- or perhaps not so- they were in the same room that had been the setting of the original spell, when Arek's vision, along with Thyer's and Sunwolf's, had called the future mages to White Gryphon's need. The location made Arek's mind drift, reflecting on things past, and the mutability of the future. The past... held darkness and sorrow for so many; his eyes again drifted to Sunwolf before darting over to rest on Thyer. But if their future was another's past, what did that say for its mutability? He sighed; these thoughts were too deep and Darian had taken his place in the form. It was time.

-o-

Darian stood at the apex of the hexagram and looked across to Firesong. Nodding his readiness, Darian closed his eyes and dove into himself. Kuari _hurred_ quietly from his shoulder.

He walked the dark half roads of the world between worlds. He was the night walker, slipping along the edge of the void between all things, and he focused his mind. He remembered what he had learned from the Northern mages, their intrinsically different approach to magic than what he had been taught. He reached out around the circle they made and found the brightness that was Firesong, brushing against it. Firesong recognized him, opened to him, and shared the fruit of his own walkings; the Firecats moved as though Gating but without Gates, when there could be no Gates. The truth of the method was divine but the ability needed merely the knowledge that it could be so. The knowledge... and the power. Slowly they reached out to the other four in the circle, bringing them in to the knowledge. Each shared some of his- _her,_ he felt the sting of Need- own power and so together they wove a net around the group, a web of connecting strands.

Darian took a deep breath and reached out to the dark half road between here and there and _pulled_ himself toward it.

-o-

One moment five men and a gryphon stood equidistant around a rough circle. The next moment, they were gone.

Amberdrake blinked. Skan growled softly.

"Not like Gating at all," Sunwolf murmured appreciatively as he stepped forward to examine where the others had stood. "Rather ingenious."

Snowstar chuckled. "I expect no less from those the Star-Eyed entrusted with our survival."

Amberdrake sighed. "Far be it for me to doubt the divine, but let us hope that Her trust was well placed."

-o-


End file.
